' 


3X7ISO 

'A3 


1861^1896. 


Celebration  of  tbe 
Cbirt^jfiftb  anniversary 
©f  tbe  ©range  Dalle?  Cburcb 
©f  ©range,  1Re\v  3ersep; 


£be  Siytb  anniversary 
©f  tbe  pastorate  of  tbe 
IRev,  Cbarles  a.  Savage. 


Ibistorical  afcbress  anfc  two  Sermons  b£ 
tbe  pastor, 

1890^1896. 


L.    J.     HARDHAM,    PRINTER,     NEWARK,     N.    J. 


THE  ANNIVERSARY 


OX  Wednesday  evening,  March  25th,  1896,  was 
observed  a  double  anniversary  in  the  Orange 
Valley  Church.  The  church  had  reached  the  thirty- 
fifth  mile-stone  in  its  history,  and  the  date  very 
nearly  coincided  with  the  sixth  anniversary  of  the  pas- 
torate of  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  Savage.  In  recognition  of  the 
event,  a  large  congregation  came  together,  and  the  church 
was  well  filled  with  members  and  friends.  The  platform 
was  elaborately  decorated  for  the  occasion  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Richard  Russell.  Palms,  potted  plants 
and  flowers  were  tastefully  arranged,  and  on  either  side 
of  the  platform  were  the  two  dates,  "  1861  "  and  "  1896," 
of  orange  figures  on  a  back-ground  of  evergreens. 

Miss  Cornelia  V.  Hutchings,  organist  of  the  church, 
presided  at  the  organ.  The  singing  was  led  by  Prof.  F. 
G.  Handel,  and  Mrs.  A.  Douglas  Brownlie,  a  former 
member  of  the  choir,  sang  two  impressive  solos,  the  first 
of  which  was,  "  I  Will  Extol  Thee,  O  Lord,"  from  Costa's 
"Eli,"  and  in  closing,  Dr.  Rankin's  hymn,  "God  Be 
With  You  Till  We  Meet  Again." 

Rev.  John  L.  Scudder,  of  Jersey  City,  read  the  First 
Chapter  of  Ezra,  and  the  Forty-eighth  Psalm,  the  first 
selection  being  the  one  read  by  Abraham  Baldwin  at  the 
beginning  of  the  church  enterprise  in  1859,  and  the 
second,  at  the  dedication  of  the  present  church  in    1868. 

Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Hall  Everest,  of  East  Orange,  offered 
prayer. 


The  Pastor  read  a  historical  narrative  of  the  church, 
covering  its  history  from  the  beginning  down  to  the 
present  pastorate. 

dr.  rankin's  address. 

Rev.  J.  E.  Rankin,  D.  D.,  President  of  Howard  Uni- 
versity, and  Mr.  Savage's  predecessor  in  the  pastorate, 
made  a  brief  address,  as  follows  : 

"  To  Moses,  the  sign  of  the  presence  of  the  angel  of 
God  in  the  burning  bush  was  that  it  burned  and  still  was 
not  consumed.  More  than  a  generation  has  elapsed 
since  the  organization  of  this  church.  Scarcely  a  rem- 
nant of  the  original  members  survive  to-day.  The 
bush  has  burned,  but  still  is  not  consumed.  I  will  turn 
aside  and  see  why  the  bush  is  not  burned.  This 
is  what  we  do  to-night.  It  is  because  the  angel 
of  God's  presence  has  been  here.  It  is  because 
God  has  been  in  His  Word,  in  His  ordinances,  in  the 
hearts  of  His  Saints,  is  in  them  to  night.  When  a  de- 
voted pastor  dies,  when  faithful  office-bearers  are  taken 
away,  it  seems  at  first  that  the  bush  is  all  consumed — 
that  all  is  over  with  it.  And  so  men  wring  their  hands 
and  sit  down  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  But,  strange 
enough,  we  look  again  and  the  bush  is  alive  with  flame, 
and  is  not  consumed.  God  sends  other  pastors,  raises 
up  other  deacons  and  Sunday  School  workers,  makes 
other  givers  generous.  The  fathers  and  mothers  sleep 
in  the  dust,  but  instead  of  the  fathers  are  the  children. 
There  is  a  heredity  of  saints  as  well  as  sinners. 

"  The  Valley  Church  has  had  a  life  of  thirty-five  years  ; 
seven  Sabbaths  of  five  !     In   one   of  these   Sabbaths  of 


five  it  was  my  lot  to  minister  to  you.  This  is  why  I  am 
with  you  to-night.  I  believe  I  formed  friendships  here 
which  will  be  knit  anew  in  Heaven,  where  we  share  the 
great  beatitude  of  the  Apocalypse,  where  we  rest  from 
our  labors,  and  where  our  works  do  follow  us.  I  expect 
to  meet  Farmer  Smith  and  Robert  Thayer  in  Heaven.  I 
believe  that  from  this  congregation  will  be  not  a  few  who 
will  form  a  part  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church 
of  the  First-Born,  whose  names  are  written  in  Heaven, 
where  congregations  never  will  break  up  and  Sabbaths 
have  no  end.  I  feel  that  it  is  an  honor  to  have  minis- 
tered to  them  ;  to  have  shared  their  trials  and  helped 
them  to  bear  their  burdens.  I  seem  to  see  them  upon 
that  Mount  of  God  compassing  about  as  a  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses. They  sing  the  new  song,  the  song  of  Moses,  the 
servant  of  God.  They  have  gone  through  the  dividing 
waters  and  left  their  foes,  the  Egyptians,  engulfed  in  the 
seas  behind  them.  And  the  song  of  the  Lamb,  the  Lamb 
who  tasted  death  for  them,  and  in  whom  they  fell  asleep  ; 
nay,  in  whose  name  and  through  whose  blood  they  have 
trampled  the  dragon  under  foot  and  are  escaped. 

"  During  the  five  years  of  my  pastorate  here  I  remem- 
ber with  especial  interest  and  gratitude  the  group  of 
young  people  who  always  rallied  around  me  and  held  up  my 
hands.  I  heard  not  a  few  of  them  make  their  first  efforts 
in  social  prayer  and  remark  ;  sweet  to  their  Heavenly 
Father  and  to  the  angels,  as  the  first  prattlings  of  child- 
hood in  an  earthly  home.  1  admitted  them  to  this  fel- 
lowship in  the  Lord.  With  constantly  increasing  satisfac- 
tion I  have  seen  the  work  they  have  carried  on  under  the 
skillful  leadership  of  their  ewn  Pastor,  who  celebrates  his 


sixth  anniversary  to-night  ;  who  has  entered  upon  his 
second  Sabbath  of  years.  It  was  my  good  fortune  as 
Pastor  here  to  guide  the  young  people  of  this  congrega- 
tion into  the  first  organization  of  Christian  Endeavor 
established  in  Orange  ;  and  it  was  equally  my  good  for- 
tune to  preside  at  the  meeting  when  the  present  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  the  city  was  established, 
and  as  President  to  affix  my  signature  first  to  the  consti- 
tution adopted.  I  never  belonged  to  that  unbelieving 
class  of  religious  teachers  who  are  timid  of  the  impulses 
of  their  young  people.  And  it  is  sweet  for  me  to  remem- 
ber the  young  people  of  this  congregation  as  beautiful  in 
their  social  life  and  beautiful  in  their  life  spiritual. 

''And  when  we  ask  why  the  bush  that  burns  is  not 
consumed,  it  is  because  of  the  ranks  of  the  young  peo- 
ple, who  stand  ready  to  take  upon  themselves  the  duties 
of  maintaining  Christian  ordinances  ;  who,  in  their  own 
society,  are  under  drill  for  service  in  the  field  ;  and  who 
answer  to  their  Master's  call  '  Here  am  I  ;  send  me.' 

"  I  thank  you  for  this  privilege  of  participating  in  your 
joys,  of  hearing  you  say,  still  under  the  shadow  of  the 
cross,  our  common  and  our  only  hope  :  '  Hitherto  hath 
the  Lord  helped  us.'  When  I  look  up  reverently  to  the 
Nestor  of  this  congregation,  whose  father  once  served 
with  my  father  among  the  hills  of  Vermont,  as  officers  of 
a  Congregational  Church,  and  who  himself  was  then  a 
young  student  from  Yale,  I  feel  that  I  am  still  a  young 
man  ;  but  when  I  hear  the  steps  of  the  young  people  press- 
ing forward,  standing  in  places  of  honor  in  this  church, 
soon  to  be  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  Israel,  I  see  it  be- 
comes me  to  accept  old  age  gracefully,  and  to  be  ready 


for  the    summons  to   an   upper  service,  where   they   see 
His  face  and  where  His  name  is  upon  their  foreheads. 

"  My  dear  brother,  I  congratulate  you  upon  your  hav- 
ing your  home  in  this  beautiful  spot,  in  Highland  Manse, 
a  house  builded  with  hands  ;  I  congratulate  you  upon 
the  affection  of  a  people  who  love  you  and  who  know  a 
good  Pastor  when  they  see  him!  May  you  enter  upon 
still  larger  usefulness,  and  may  this  celebration  day  be 
the  beginning  of  a  period  of  such  spiritual  refreshing  as 
comes  only  when  the  windows  of  Heaven  are  opened  and 
men  say,  'We  will  go  with  you,  because  we  see  that  the 
Lord  is  with  you.'  " 

DR.    BROWN'S    ADDRESS. 

The  Rev.  William  B.  Brown,  D.  D.,  of  East  Orange, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Council  which 
met  March  27,  1861,  to  recognize  the  church  and  ordain 
and  install  its  first  Pastor,  was  present,  and  after  listen- 
ing to  the  historical  narrative,  gave  a  short  address,  in 
which  he  said  : 

"I  have  been  so  impressed  with  the  beauty  and  thor- 
oughness of  this  address  that  you  have  listened  to,  and  it 
has  so  stirred  up  my  heart  and  awakened  my  memories, 
that  I  believe  I  could  talk  to  you  all  night  on  the  history 
of  things  in  New  Jersey.  Truly  God  has  made  all  things 
new.  When  I  came  to  Newark  in  1854  there  was  only 
one  Congregational  Church  on  the  side  of  the  Atlantic 
from  New  York  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  It  was  three  or 
four  years  before  the  second  church  was  organized,  in 
Jersey  City,  and  then  in  the  summer  of  i860  I  received  a 
letter  from  Dr.  Lowell  Mason,  telling  of  the  church  about 


8 

to  be  organized  here,  and  asking  me  to  come  and  talk  it 
over.     I  could  give  now  all  the  details,  did   time  permit. 

In  1867  the  Grove  Street  Church  in  East  Orange  was 
organized;  in  1868,  the  Belleville  Avenue  Church  in 
Newark  ;  and  in  1870,  Trinity  Church  in  East 
Orange,  and  the  church  in  Montclair.  I  thank 
God  and  take  courage.  Newark  was  then  only  65,000 
and  to-day  she  is  225,000.  God  grant  that  the  next  forty 
years  may  show  even  greater  progress  made  than  in  the 
past  forty  years.  Most  of  us  then  will  have  gone  over 
yonder,  and  the  children  of  to-day  will  carry  on  the  great 
and  glorious  work." 

The  Rev.  John  L.  Scudder,  of  Jersey  City,  was  called 
on  and  said  :  "lam  very  glad  to  be  with  you  here  to- 
night. When  there  is  a  contribution  to  be  taken  up  I  am 
glad  to  do  my  share.  I  bring  you  congratulations  from 
Jersey  City,  both  to  this  church  and  to  its  Pastor.  We 
love  your  Pastor  for  his  progressive  spirit  and  self-sacri- 
fice, but  we  don't  like  his  name  He's  a  lovely  and  sweet- 
tempered  savage.  Then  this  church  has  an  assistant  pas- 
tor that  is  not  paid,  in  Mrs.  Savage.  Her  interest  in  all 
directions  of  Christian  energy  shows  that  she  is  a  good 
helpmate.  I  congratulate  you  on  your  Pastor  and  Pas- 
toress,  and  hope  that  in  the  years  to  come  your  success 
will  be  as  great  as  it  has  been  in  the  past." 

The  Rev.  Dr  Charles  H.  Everest,  of  the  Grove  Street 
Congregational  Church,  extended  the  hand  of  greeting 
from  East  Orange.  They  did  not  believe  in  consolida- 
tion, but  in  spiritual  matters  they  were  willing  to  be  ab- 
sorbed. He  bid  the  Orange  Valley  Church  God -speed 
in  the  name  of  Orange  and  East  Orange. 


Many  letters  of  invitation  had  been  sent  to  clergymen 
and  other  friends  at  a  distance,  who  sent  messages  of  regret 
at  not  being  able  to  be  present.  Among  them  were  let- 
ters from  a  member  of  the  family  of  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Ely, 
regretting  his  absence  abroad,  and  from  Dr.  William 
Mason,  who  had  been  invited  to  occupy  his  old  seat  at 
the  organ  on  this  occasion,  but  was  detained  by  physical 
infirmity. 

Letters  of  regret  and  congratulations  were  also  re- 
ceived from  Rev.  Dr.  A.  H.  Bradford,  Rev.  Dr.  Richard 
S.  Storrs,  Rev.  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  Rev.  William  Hayes 
Ward,  D.  D.,  Rev.  F.  F.  Ellinwood,  D.  D.,  Rev.  M.  E. 
Strieby,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  H.  Richards,  Rev.  Dr.  B.  F. 
Bradford,  Rev.  Dr.  Fritz  W  Baldwin,  Rev.  Dr.  P.  F. 
Leavens,  Rev.  Charles  Townsend,  Rev.  Wm.  G.  Thayer, 
Rev.  Howard  Bliss,  Prof.  Rhoden  Mitchell  and  Deacon 
Samuel  Holmes,  who  was  also  a  member  of  the  Council 
in  1 86 1. 

The  hymns  sung  on  this  occasion  were,  "  O  Word  of 
God  Incarnate,"  and  "  Ten  Thousand  Times  Ten  Thous- 
and." 

The  following  hymn,  written  for  the  occasion  by  a 
friend  of  the  church,  as  "  an  expression  of  remembrance 
of  the  past  and  faith  and  hope  for  the  future,"  was  read 
by  Prof   E   W.  Given  : 

We  meet  with  joy  this  day, 
(Remembering  all  the  way 

In  years  gone  by,) 
To  thank  Thee  for  Thy  grace, 
Which  helped  us  in  our  race, 
And  brought  us  to  this  place 

In  peace  and  joy. 


IO 

Now  come  we,  Lord,  to  Thee  ; 
Bless  us,  and  may'st  Thou  be 

Our  only  stay. 
Grateful  for  these  years,  gone, 
We  look  to  Thee  alone 
For  strength  and  grace,  whereon 

To  lean  alway. 


And  may  Thy  presence,  Lord, 
Make  fruitful  Thy  dear  Word 

In  all  this  place. 
And  may  Thy  Spirit  dwell 
In  hearts  who  long  to  tell, 
Beneath  this  Sabbath  bell, 

Thy  wonderous  grace. 


Oh  !  That  the  fruit  might  be, 
Ten  thousand  souls  for  Thee, 

To  sing  Thy  praise. 
And  look  to  Thee,  the  Way, 
The  Truth,  the  Life,  and  may 
They  in  their  hearts,  each  day, 

An  anthem  raise. 


And  when  Thy  call  they  hear, 
To  leave  for  Heaven,  (more  near 

Thy  gracious  love,) 
Oh  !  May  their  answer  be, 
"  Yes,  Lord,  we  come  to  Thee, 
Where  we  shall  ever  see 

Thy  face  above." 


Now,  glory,  piaise  and  love, 
To  Him  who  sits  above, 

All  we  can  know. 
To  Father,  Spirit,  Son, 
To  God,  the  Three  in  One, 
Be  homage  ever  done, 

By  all  below. 

The  following  beautiful  hymn,  which  had  been  written 
for  this  Anniversary  by  Dr.  Rankin,  was  read  by  the 
Pastor  : 

our  heav'nward  way. 

The  peace  of  God  attend  us, 

As  home  we  go  to-day  ; 
His  angel-guards  defend  us 

Upon  our  Heav'nward  way  ; 
His  grace  in  us  begetting 

His  image  more  and  more  ; 
All  that's  behind  forgetting, 

We  face  what  is  before. 

The  sick  come  here  for  healing, 

The  blind  that  they  may  see ; 
We  lift  our  eyes  appealing, 

Dear  patient  Lord,  to  Thee. 
Here  in  our  strength  and  beauty, 

Here  in  our  riper  years, 
Fulfilling  each  our  duty 

Until  the  Lord  appears. 

Here  fall  the  Gospel  manna, 

Each  sev'ral  path  beside  ; 
Ascend  the  shout  hosanna 

To  Christ,  the  crucified. 


12 

New  glory  on  us  rising, 

Be  for  us  all  prepared  ; 
Until  our  souls  uprising, 

We  reach  the  great  reward. 

Dr.  Rankin's  hymn,  "  God  Be  With  You  Till  We  Meet 
Again,"  which  has  been  adopted  by  the  Christian  En- 
deavor Society  of  the  country,  was  beautifully  and  touch- 
ingly  sung  by  Mrs.  Brownlie  as  a  solo,  the  entire  congre- 
gation joining  in  the  chorus  with  telling  effect.  The 
benediction  was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rankin  and 
Miss  Hutchings  played  a  march,  by  Calkin,  as  a  postlude. 

On  Thursday  afternoon  and  evening  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Savage  held  a  reception  at  the  parsonage,  "  Highland 
Manse."  They  were  assisted  in  receiving  by  Mrs. 
Thomas  S.  Waterman,  Mrs.  J.  Smith  Pierson,  Mrs. 
Henry  M.  Matthews  and  Miss  Elizabeth  B.  Johnson. 
The  following  ladies,  Mrs.  Stephen  A.  Condict,  Mrs. 
John  Van  Vechten,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Osgood,  and  Mrs  A. 
M.  Burtis  presided  at  the  refreshment  tables.  They 
were  assisted  by  Dr.  Sarah  C.  Spottiswoode,  Miss 
Emma  Spottiswoode,  Miss  Louise  G.  Vose,  Miss  Jessie  C. 
Tait,  Miss  Myra  E.  Matthews,  Miss  Ethel  I.  Smith,  Miss 
Elizabeth  Mead,  Miss  Mary  Milne,  Miss  Katharine 
Meigs,  Miss  Margaret  Burtis,  Miss  Florence  Waterman, 
Miss  Tillie  Kyle,  Miss  Emma  Cooper,  Miss  Emeline 
Condict  and  Miss    Edith  Mead. 


HISTORICAL  NARRATIVE. 


A  few  days  ago  a  man  called  at  the  parsonage,  wishing 
to  arrange  for  an  entertainment  to  be  given  in  this  church 
with  the  micro-phonograph.  He  could  give  us,  he  said, 
concerts  and  lectures,  songs  and  sermons,  brass  bands 
and  bag-pipe  solos,  psalms  and  sacred  solos,  reproduced 
in  perfect  sound  and  volume.  He  was  late  in  coming, 
for  already  there  was  in  process  of  preparation  a  phono- 
graphic recital  which,  gathering  up  the  voices  which  have 
spoken,  and  the  songs  which  have  been  sung,  and  the 
deeds  which  have  been  done  in  this  Orange  Valley 
Church,  should  in  some  sort  reproduce  them  for  your 
hearing  to-night. 

THE    BIRTHDAY. 

The  day  which  is  observed  as  the  birth-anniversary  of 
an  Oriental  child  is  not  the  day  on  which  he  first  saw 
light,  but  the  day  on  which  he  was  formally  named  ; 
usually  the  natal  day  of  the  saint  whose  name  he  bears. 
If  we  date  from  its  beginning,  the  Orange  Valley  Church 
had  several  birthdays.  There  was  the  day  when  the 
mission  enterprise  was  born  in  the  heart  of  James 
Greacen.  There  was  the  day  when  the  little  Sunday 
School  was  started  in  the  Valley.  There  was  the  day 
when  a  small  company  of  believers  came  together  and 
covenanted  to  walk  with  each  other  in  Christian  fellow- 


14 

ship.  The  one  which  we  to-night  observe  as  our  birth- 
day, was  that  day  in  March,  1861,  the  27th  by  the  calen- 
dar, when  this  church  received  its   ecclesiastical  name. 

On  that  day  it  was  formally  recognized  by  the  Council, 
and  its  first  Pastor  was  ordained  and  installed.  For  just 
thirty-five  years  then,  this  church  has  been  a  regularly 
organized  body  equipped  for  Christian  work.  In  tracing 
its  beginnings,  however,  we  must  go  back  several  years 
further. 

THE    FIRST    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

The  old  wooden  school-house,  which  has  just  given 
place  to  a  more  substantial  structure,  at  the  corner  of 
Forest  street  and  Valley  road,  was  the  birthplace  of  the 
Sunday  School,  which  afterwards  grew  into  the  Orange 
Valley  Church. 

About  the  1st  of  September,  1854,  at  the  suggestion 
and  chiefly  through  the  instrumentality  of  Mr.  James 
Greacen,  this  Sunday  School  was  established  in  one  of 
the  rooms  of  that  building,  which  was  then  known  as  the 
Girard  School-house. 

Mr.  Greacen  was  an  active  member  and  afterwards  an 
elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Orange,  and 
on  that  account  this  enterprise  in  the  Valley  was  regarded 
by  that  church  as  a  mission  of  its  own.  About  twenty 
scholars  were  collected  the  first  Sabbath.  Mr.  Greacen 
acted  as  Superintendent  and  he  was  assisted  by  teachers 
from  the  several  churches  in  the  vicinity.  The  members 
of  the  school  gradually  increased,  so  that  in  November 
following  it  became  necessary  to  provide  more  ample  ac- 
commodations.      Means    were    accordingly    raised    by 


voluntary  subscription,  to  furnish  with  seats  and  other 
necessary  appointments,  the  large  upper  room  of  the 
school-house,  previously  unfurnished 

At  this  time,  November,  1854,  a  Sunday  evening 
prayer  meeting  was  commenced,  under  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Greacen,  and  there  was  also  occasional  preaching  on 
Wednesday  evenings,  when  the  services  of  a  clergyman 
could  be  obtained. 

The  first  clergyman  who  was  actively  connected 
with  the  enterprise  in  Orange  Valley  was  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Prudden,  who  was  very  active  in  evangelistic  work. 

In  the  fall  of  1857  Mr.  Greacen  was  called  home  to  his 
reward.  He  was  an  earnest,  devoted,  Christian  worker, 
and  Mr.  Lowell  Mason  says  of  him:  "  To  this  beloved 
Christian  brother,  whose  memory  is  precious  to  all  who 
knew  him,  may  be  justly  ascribed,  under  God,  most  of 
the  credit  for  the  commencement,  and  support  for  some 
years,  of  this  enterprise." 

He  was  succeeded  as  Superintendent  by  Mr.  Abraham 
Baldwin,  who  had  for  some  time  been  teacher  of  a  Bible 
class  in  the  school.  Mr.  Baldwin  entered  upon  the  work 
with  great  energy  and  efficiency,  and  retained  the  office, 
with  the  exception  of  one  year,  until  1863.  Under  his 
care  the  school  gradually  prospered,  growing  to  be  the 
largest  Sunday  School  in  Orange,  which  then  included 
East  and  West  Orange.  During  this  period  a  monthly 
concert  of  prayer  for  Sabbath  Schools  was  commenced, 
which  furnished  in  part  the  means  to  support  a  col- 
porteur. 

In  the  spring  of  1858,  Rev.  S.  C.  Hay,  I).  D.,  who  had 
been  a  prominent  Presbyterian   minister  of  Newark,  was 


i6 

employed  to  preach  a  half  day  each  Sunday  to  the  con- 
gregation assembling  in  the  school-house.  In  the  great 
revival  of  that  year,  morning  and  evening  prayer  meet- 
ings were  held  every  day  for  several  months,  members  of 
several  different  denominations  uniting  together  in  them. 
There  was  also  occasional  preaching  by  several  of  the 
ministers  of  Orange,  and  many  were  brought  to  decide 
for  Christ,  who  afterwards  joined  the  several  churches. 

The  first  persons  chosen  as  Trustees  to  provide  for  the 
support  of  the  enterprise  were  :  Mr.  James  Bell,  Chair- 
man ;  Mr.  Edward  Freeman,  Treasurer  ;  Mr.  G.  W. 
Smith,  Secretary  ;  Mr.  Ambrose  Matthews  and  Mr.  David 
Ward. 

THE     FIRST    CHURCH    EDIFICE. 

In  1859  the  plan  which  had  for  some  time  been  agi- 
tated of  building  a  chapel  to  accommodate  the  largely 
increasing  numbers  who  came  together  to  worship,  and 
the  growing  Sunday  School,  took  definite  shape.  The 
first  recorded  meeting  to  discuss  the  matter  was  held  in 
the  Girard  School  house  on  the  25th  of  January  of  that 
year.  Mr.  Abraham  Baldwin  was  Chairman,  who  opened 
the  meeting  with  the  reading  of  the  First  Chapter  of  Ezra. 

It  was  voted  that  it  was  expedient  to  proceed  at  once 
to  build  a  church,  and  the  following  gentlemen  were  ap- 
pointed Chairmen  of  committees  :  John  H.  Matthews, 
to  select  a  site  ;  George  Merrill,  to  obtain  plans  ;  Abra- 
ham Baldwin,  to  obtain  subscriptions  Two  building 
sites  were  offered  free  for  the  location  of  the  church  ;  one 
by  James  E.  Smith  and  the  other  by  Ira  C.  Tompkins 
The  latter,  on  the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Valley  streets^ 
was  finally  chosen 


17 

Record  has  been  found  of  a  meeting  held  July  5,  1859 
at  which  "  an  eloquent  and  very  appropriate  prayer  war 
made  by  Mr.  D.  Willis  James,"  and  Mr.  Baldwin  re- 
ported that  $2,530  had  been  subscribed  towards  the 
church. 

On  the  14th  of  September  a  board  of  five  Trustees  was 
chosen,  of  which  Lowell  Mason,  Jr.,  was  made  President, 
George  Merrill,  Treasurer,  and  G.  W.  Smith,  Secretary, 
to  hold  property  and  secure  incorporation,  which  they 
did  from  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  of  the  County  of 
Essex,  under  the  name  of  "  The  Trustees  of  the  Orange 
Valley  Church  of  Orange."  The  lot  donated  by  Mr. 
Tompkins  was  deeded  to  them  on  condition  that  it  should 
always  be  used  for  religious  purposes.  Money  was  col- 
lected, largely  through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Baldwin,  and  a 
handsome  little  building  of  brown  sand-stone,  modelled 
after  the  chapel  of  Trinity  Episcopal  Church  in  Newark, 
and  from  plans  drawn  by  George  Merrill,  was  erected  at 
a  cost  of  about  $9,000. 

It  had  at  first  been  proposed  to  erect  a  cheap  wooden 
structure,  but  James  Bell,  one  of  the  Building  Committee, 
made  so  low  a  bid  for  a  more  substantial  edifice,  it  was 
decided  to  erect  the  building  of  stone,  and  the  contract 
was  carried  out  by  him.  The  chancel  and  chapel  were 
separated  by  folding-doors,  in  front  of  which  was  a 
moveable  platform,  and  the  whole  was  seated  with  black- 
walnut  pews,  with  reversible  backs,  the  primary  purpose 
of  the  building  being  for  the  use  of  the  Sunday  School. 
This  part  of  the  work  was  done  by  Henry  M.  Matthews. 

The  corner-stone  of  this  building,  which  was  spoken 
of  as  "The   Orange  Valley  Mission  Church,"    was  laid 


i8 

with  appropriate  ceremonies  September  12th,  1S59. 
These  ceremonies  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hay, 
and  were  participated  in  by  the  members  of  the  congre- 
gation and  the  children  of  the  Sunday  School. 

In  January,  i860,  the  church  was  completed,  and  was 
dedicated  with  fitting  services,  the  sermon  being  preached 
by  Dr.  Hay  and  the  dedicatory  prayer  offered  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Hoyt,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

In  February  of  that  year  it  was  decided  to  hold  two 
preaching  services  on  each  Sabbath.  Rev.  Dr.  Hay  was 
engaged  to  preach,  and  $500  were  subscribed  for  the 
support  of  the  church  for  one  year.  The  services  of  Dr. 
Hay  as  acting  pastor  of  the  Mission  and  in  guiding  in 
the  organization  of  the  church,  extended  through  nearly 
three  years. 

CHURCH     ORGANIZATION. 

Up  to  the  time  of  building  the  chapel  there  was  no 
church  organization.  In  April,  i860,  a  meeting  was  held, 
at  which  it  was  voted  that  it  was  expedient  that  one 
should  now  be  organized,  and  a  committee,  consisting  of 
James  Bell,  John  Porter,  John  Merrill  and  G.  W  Smith,, 
was  chosen  to  make  a  canvass  to  determine  the  denomi- 
national preference  of  the  congregation.  As  there  were 
representatives  of  several  denominations  interested,  there 
was  much  discussion  as  to  the  form  in  which  the  new 
church  enterprise  should  take  shape  In  the  end  the  Con- 
gregational polity  was  selected,  inasmuch  as  a  number  of 
the  most  active  supporters  of  the  movement  were  of  New 
England  birth  and  training.  The  result  was,  as  has  often 
been  the  case  in  similar  circumstances,  Congregationalism 


19 

being  the  natural  solvent  of  all  the  denominations,  and 
the  common  ground  on  which  tolerant  believers  of  every 
name  can  harmoniously  come  together.  It  was  an  inter- 
esting illustration  of  a  well-known  principle  of  heredity 
that  this  vigorous  Mission  should  revert  to  the  ancestral 
faith  of  its  spiritual  mother — the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Orange  having  been,  during  the  first  thirty 
years  of  its  existence,  a  Congregational  Church. 

At  the  time  this  church  was  organized  there  were  but 
four  Congregational  churches  in  New  Jersey — at  Chester, 
organized  in  1740  ;  Newark  First,  185 1  ;  Paterson,  1853  ; 
and  Jersey  City,  1858. 

When  it  had  been  decided  to  which  denominational 
body  the  Valley  Church  should  belong,  a  committee,  of 
which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hay  was  Chairman,  was  appointed  to 
draft  Rules  for  Church  Goverment  and  Articles  of  Faith 
and  Covenant.  These  articles  were  prepared  in  essential 
harmony  with  those  held  by  the  Orthodox  Congregational 
Churches  of  the  country,  and  adopted  by  vote  taken 
August  10,  i860. 

On  this  date,  which  was  the  real  natal  day  of  the 
church,  forty-five  persons  affixed  their  names  to  the 
Articles  of  Organization,  which  was  then  called  "  The 
First  Congregational  Church  of  Orange."  A  prayer  for 
God's  blessing  upon  the  new  church  was  offered  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Hay.  .  Of  the  forty-five  persons  who  signed  the 
Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant  twenty  were  males  and 
twenty-five  females.  Of  these,  thirty-five  brought  letters 
from  Presbyterian  churches,  nine  from  Congregational 
and  one  from  a  Baptist  Church.  At  the  end  of  thirty- 
five  years  of  our  church  history,  but  four  of  these  charter 


20 

members  remain  with  us.     They  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James 
Bell,  Mr.  Enoch  Condit  and  Mr.  H.  M.  Matthews. 

The  first  Board  of  Deacons  chosen  consisted  of  Abra- 
ham Baldwin,  Dr.  Lowell  Mason  and  Aaron  Smith, 
Reuben  Langden,  Jr.,  was  chosen  Clerk  and  Dr.  Lowell 
Mason,  Precentor. 

THE     FIRST    PASTOR. 

Steps  were  immediately  taken  to  call  a  permanent  Pas- 
tor, and  in  December,  i860,  a  call  was  unanimously  ex- 
tended to  Mr.  George  B.  Bacon,  of  New  Haven,  Conn., 
who  at  that  time  was  a  student  in  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  at  a  salary  of  $1,000.  Before  receiving  this 
call  Mr.  Bacon  had  had  it  in  mind  to  engage  in  the  work 
of  Foreign  Missions.  He  was  led,  however,  to  think 
favorably  of  the  invitation  to  Orange,  and  in  a  letter 
dated  January  8,  1861,  accepted  the  call,  engaging  to  be- 
gin his  labors  in  the  following  spring.  A  condition  was 
made  to  his  acceptance,  and  granted  by  the  church,  that 
at  some  future  time  three  months  should  be  granted  him 
in  which  to  complete  his  course  of  theological  study. 
The  pressure  of  practical  work  in  the  new  parish  was  so 
great,  however,  that  this  condition  was  never  carried  out. 

On  the  27th  day  of  March,  1861,  an  Ecclesiastical 
Council  was  called  to  recognize  the  church  and  ordain 
and  install  the  Pastor-elect. 

Something  of  the  condition  of  Orange  in  those  days  may 
be  inferred  from  a  minute  found  in  the  church  records, 
to  the  effect  that  the  date  of  the  Council  be  changed 
from  April  3d  to  March  27th,  "  that  we  may  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  moonlight  nights."     Those  who  remember  the 


condition  of  Orange  streets  of  that  era,  will  understand 
the  significance  of  that  decision.  Indeed,  the  lapse  of 
thirty-five  years  has  not  effaced  from  the  mind  of  our 
friend  Deacon  Samuel  Holmes,  of  Montclair,  who  was 
present  on  that  occasion  as  delegate  from  Broadway 
Tabernacle,  the  discomforts  of  the  stage-ride  from  the 
Newark  railway  station. 

Of  this  Council,  at  which  ten  churches  were  repre- 
sented, the  Rev.  L.  L.  Stoutenberg,  of  Chester,  was 
chosen  Moderator,  and  Rev.  L.  W.  Bacon,  of  Litchfield, 
Conn.,  Scribe.  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  of  New  Haven,  the 
father  of  the  pastor-elect,  preached  the  sermon  ;  Dr. 
Wm.  I.  Buddington,  of  Brooklyn,  made  the  ordaining 
prayer  ;  Dr.  J.  P.  Thompson,  of  New  York,  gave  the 
charge  to  the  pastor  ;  Rev.  Leonard  Woolsey  Bacon  ex- 
tended the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and  Rev.  W.  B. 
Brown,  of  Newark,  gave  the  charge  to  the  people. 

It  is  pleasant  to  have  with  us  to-night  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  that  first  Council,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brown.  Another 
of  its  members,  who  is  still  living,  recalls  an  interesting 
fact  in  connection  with  that  recognition  and  ordination 
service.  Dr.  Lowell  Mason,  in  his  black  velvet  cap,  led 
the  singing,  using  a  small  melodeon  standing  in  front  of 
the  platform,  and  as  the  three  hymns  given  out  were  all 
in  long  meter,  and  all  chanced  to  be  set  to  "  Old  Hun- 
dred "  in  the  Sabbath  Hymn  and  Tune  Book,  that  good 
old  tune  was  sung  three  times.  Surely  no  one  can  say 
this  church  had  not  an  orthodox  foundation. 

THE    RAISING    OF    REVENUE. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  church  there 
were  two  independent  organizations  working  harmoniously 


together,  each  along  its  own  line,  for  the  well-being  of 
the  enterprise — the  church,  under  the  administration  of 
the  Pastor,  Board  of  Deacons  and  Standing  Committee* 
and  the  Ecclesiastical  Society,  incorporated  to  hold 
property  and  raise  a  revenue  for  the  running  expenses  of 
the  church,  and  under  the  administration  of  a  Board  of 
Trustees. 

The  early  meetings  of  the  society  were  mainly  taken 
up  with  discussing  ways  and  means  of  raising  money. 
That  this  was  not  always  easily  done  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  a  donation  party  was  given  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Hay  on  October  12,  i860,  and  in  1862  a  concert 
was  given  in  Library  Hall,  under  the  auspices  of  Mr. 
William  Mason  and  others,  for  the  benefit  of  the  church, 
the  proceeds,  $42.53,  being  devoted  to  the  furnishing  of 
the  vestry-room. 

For  two  or  three  years  after  the  church  was  organized 
the  annual  revenue  was  raised  by  voluntary  contributions* 
all  the  seats  in  the  church  being  free.  In  February,  1863, 
however,  after  an  extended  discussion,  conducted  in  a 
calm,  judicious  and  Christian  spirit,  in  which  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church  were  nearly  equally  divided  in  opinion, 
it  was  decided  to  adopt  the  system  of  renting  the  pews. 
A  vote  was  afterwards  taken  that  all  pews  should  be  free 
at  the  evening  service. 

THE    NEW    CHURCH. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society,  held  in  Decem- 
ber, 1863,  we  find  the  first  record  of  a  movement  towards 
the  building  of  a  new  House  of  Worship,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  take  the  matter  into  consideration.    No 


2S 

decisive  action  was  taken,  however,  until  the  next  annual 
meeting  in  January,  1865,  when  a  Building  Committee, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Stone,  Vose,  Bell,  Barnes,  Carter 
and  Mason,  was  appointed  and  authorized  to  procure 
subscriptions  for  a  new  church  edifice. 

At  a  meeting  in  October  of  that  year,  this  committee 
reported  that  a  subscription  sufficient  to  authorize  the 
building  of  a  new  House  of  Worship  had  been  obtained, 
and  it  was  voted  to  proceed  to  its  erection.  The  ques- 
tion of  a  change  of  location  awakened  much  discussion, 
but  in  view  of  the  commanding  influence  which  the 
church  was  beginning  to  exert  in  the  community,  and  of 
its  future  prospects,  it  was  decided  that  the  new  church 
should  be  erected  in  a  more  prominent  and  central  posi- 
tion. A  beautiful  site  was  chosen  on  Highland  avenue, 
on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  eastward,  overlooking  Orange 
Valley,  and  a  lot  was  purchased  of  James  Smith  for  about 
$2,000. 

The  plan  of  the  new  edifice  was  drawn  by  Messrs. 
Duggin  and  Crossman,  architects  of  New  York,  and  the 
contract  for  the  building,  which  was  to  be  of  blue  trap- 
rock  from  Orange  Mountain,  with  red  sand-stone  trim- 
mings, was  let  to  James  Bell. 

At  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  June  21,  1867,  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies,  con- 
ducted by  the  Pastor. 

The  money  for  the  building  was  raised  partly  by  sub- 
scription and  partly  by  the  issue  of  stock,  which  was  re- 
deemed by  the  transfer  of  pews  in  the  new  edifice. 
These  pews  were  thus  to  be  owned  by  the  purchasers, 
but  subject  to  a  yearly  tax  for  the  support  of  the  church. 


24 

They  have  gradually,  however,  been  deeded  back  to  the 
Ecclesiastical  Society,  so  that  now  only  four  of  the  pews 
are  held  by  private  ownership. 

The  Orange  Journal  of  May  16,  1868,  contains  an  ac- 
count of  a  Valley  church  fair,  held  for  two  days  and 
evenings  in  Library  Hall,  the  net  proceeds  of  which  were 
nearly  $2,700.  At  this  fair,  which  proved  so  successful 
in  raising  funds  for  the  new  church,  the  floral  pavilion 
was  presided  over  by  Miss  Collamore;  Highland  Avenue 
Temple  by  Miss  Otis,  Mrs.  Barnes  and  others  ;  refresh- 
ment tables  by  Mrs.  William  Mason  and  Mrs.  Wiley  ; 
fancy  table  by  Mrs.  Bacon  ;  apple  and  peanut  stand  by 
Mrs.  Crommelin;  ice  cream  by  Miss  Belcher;  art  gallery 
and  rustic  pavilion  by  Mrs.  Abraham  Baldwin  ;  union 
booth  by  Mrs.  A.  Carter,   Mrs.  Blake   and   Mrs.  Colgate. 

In  June,  1868,  Lowell  Mason,  Jr.,  President  of  the 
Orange  Valley  Church  Building  Association,  reported 
that  the  Association  had  accomplished  its  labors  in  the 
erection  of  the  edifice,  and  were  now  ready  to  put  the 
Society  in  possession  of  the  property.  The  transfer  to 
the  Society  was  accordingly  made,  subject  to  a  mortgage 
of  $15,000,  held  by  the  Mutual  Benefit  Life  Insurance 
Company  of  Newark.  The  accounts  showed  that  the 
amount  due  the  Building  Committee  was  $46,115.32,  in- 
cluding the  $15,000  mortgage,  and  exclusive  of  all  gifts, 
contributions,  subscriptions,  proceeds  of  fairs,  etc.  The 
total  cost  of  the  church  was  approximately  $65,000. 

On  the  8th  day  of  June,  1868,  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Messrs.  Heald,  Carter  and  Barnes,  was  appointed  to 
confer  with  the  Pastor  as  to  the  proposed  dedication  of 
the  church.     These  services  took  place  at  5   o'clock  on 


25 

the  afternoon  of  Friday,  June  26th,  1S68,  in  the  presence 
of  a  large  concourse  of  people,  several  distinguished 
clergymen  from  abroad  being  present.  A  historical  state- 
ment was  made  by  the  Pastor  ;  appropriate  psalms  were 
read  responsively  by  minister  and  people  ;  the  choir 
chanted  : 

"  Lift  up  your  heads,  O,  ye  gates  ! 
And  be  ye  lift  up,  ye  everlasting  doors  ! 
And  the  King  of  Glory  shall  come  in." 

A  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Horace 
Bushnell,  of  Hartford,  from  the  text,  "  The  House  That 
Is  to  Be  Builded  for  the  Lord  Must  Be  Exceeding  Mag- 
nifical,"  I  Chron.,  xxii,  5;  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  of  New 
Haven  offered  the  dedicatory  prayer,  and  the  people  sang 
the  closing  hymn  : 

Peace  be  to  this  sacred  dwelling, 

Peace  to  every  soul  therein  ; 
Peace,  of  Heavenly  joy  foretelling, 

Peace,  the  fruits  of  conquered  sin  ; 
Peace,  that  speaks  its  Heavenly  Giver, 

Peace  to  worldly  minds  unknown  ; 
Peace  divine,  that  flows  forever 

From  its  source,  the  Lord  alone. 

Thus,  as  we  gather  from  a  copy  of  the  printed  pro- 
gram and  from  the  memory  of  some  who  were  present 
on  that  occasion,  was  this,  our  House  of  Worship,  dedi- 
cated to  the  service  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

THE    OLD    SCHOOL  HOUSE. 

As  erected  in  1868,  the  new  church  edifice  consisted 
only  of  the  main  auditorium.  For  several  months  after 
its    erection,    the    Sunday    School    and    Friday    evening 


26 


prayer  meetings  were  held  in  the  old  church  in  the  Val- 
ley. In  April,  1870,  the  Trustees  were  directed  to  pay 
$ 1 00  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Highland  Avenue  School  for 
rent  of  the  school-house  adjoining  the  church,  which  was 
thereafter  used  for  these  purposes. 

From  time  to  time  the  question  of  building  a  suitable 
chapel  was  agitated,  and  at  one  time  the  way  seemed  to 
be  opened  for  it,  through  a  generous  offer  on  the  part  of 
one  of  the  members.     A  lot  adjoining  the  church   on  the 
northwest  side  was  purchased  of  Mr.   Mason,  a  fund  of 
$4,700    being    raised    for   this    purpose    by    weekly  and 
monthly  subscriptions,  Mr.  Mason  himself  contributing 
$1,000.     Plans  for  the  chapel  were  drawn  and  the  con- 
tract   for   building   let    for    &24,775-     The    ProJect  feU 
through,    however,    and    in    December,     1873,    the    old 
school-house    was  purchased  for  $250  and  repaired  for 
the    use    of    the    Sunday    School  and  evening  meetings. 
This  building  was  used  for  these  purposes  until  the  com- 
pletion of  the  new  chapel  in   1880.     It  remained  on  the 
church  lot  until  December,  1885,  when  it   was  moved  to 
Tompkins  street  and  voted  to  be  kept  for  religious  pur- 
poses connected  with  our  church  work. 

In  September,  1873,  the  sale  of  the  old  church  pro- 
perty in  the  Valley  to  the  Roman  Catholic  "  Church  of 
•Our  Lady  of  the  Valley,"  was  consummated  at  the  price  of 
$7,000.  It  appears  that  the  entire  proceeds  of  this  sale 
were  absorbed  before  June,  1878,  in  paying  the  floating 
indebtedness  of  the  church. 

MUSIC    IN    THE    ORANGE    VALLEY    CHURCH. 

From  its  early  days  music  has  been  an  important  fea- 
ture in  our  worship.     The  name    of  the   Mason  family 


27 

will  always  be  gratefully  remembered  in  this  church,  both 
for  the  interest  which  its  members  had  in  the  enterprise 
from  its  beginning  and  the  active  support  they  rendered, 
and  especially  for  their  services  in  making  its  music  at- 
tractive. 

Dr.  Lowell  Mason,  "the  Father  of  American  Church 
Music,"  and  his  son,  Lowell  Mason,  Jr.,  were  both  char- 
ter members  of  the  church.  Both  served  as  Deacon, 
member  of  Standing  Committee,  Sunday  School  Super- 
intendent and  Precentor,  the  latter  office  being  held  by 
them  until  1876.  To  Dr.  William  Mason  also  the  church 
was  indebted  for  his  great  care  and  skill  in  the  choice 
and  purchase  of  the  organ,  and  for  his  gratuitous  services 
as  organist  for  more  than  ten  years.  The  Orange  Journal 
in  the  spring  of  1868  records  an  item  to  the  effect  that  on 
March  12th  of  that  year,  a  concert  was  given  in  Library 
Hall  by  Mr.  William  Mason,  assisted  by  Mr.  Theodore 
Thomas  and  others,  for  the  benefit  of  the  organ  fund  of 
the  Orange  Valley  Church,  which  netted  $500.  The 
organ,  which  cost  nearly  $5,000,  and  has  always  been  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  finest  in  the  Oranges,  was  first  used 
at  a  Sunday  service  August  1st,  1868,  and  from  that  time 
on  until  failing  health  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  go 
abroad,  it  was  presided  over  by  Dr.  Mason,  with  a  skill 
and  delicacy  of  touch  that  made  the  Orange  Valley 
Church  famous  far  and  wide. 

Dr.  Lowell  Mason  died  at  his  home  at  Silver  Spring, 
on  the  Valley  road,  August  11,  1872,  and  a  commemora- 
tive discourse  was  preached  at  his  funeral  by  Dr.  Bacon, 
from  the  text,  "  These  are  they  whom  David  set  over  the 
service   of  song    in    the  House  of   the  Lord"  ;  I  Chron. 


28 

vi,  31.  A  beautiful  memorial  window  was  afterwards 
placed  in  the  church  to  his  memory  by  the  family.  It 
represents  the  Royal  Psalmist  catching  on  his  harp  the 
inspiration  of  celestial  music  from  angels  hovering  over 
him,  and  surrounded  by  a  throng  of  musicians.  The  in- 
scription underneath, 

"  Let  the  people  praise  Thee,  O  God  ; 
Let  all  the  people  praise  Thee  !" 

rests  on  the  emblems  of  Faith  and  Hope  ;  and  lower  still 

is  the  legend: 

In  Memoriam, 

Lowell  Mason,  Mus.  Doc., 

Born  June  8,  1792.  Died  August  11,  1872. 

THE    CHIMES. 

In  1870  a  chime  of  ten  bells,  from  the  foundry  of 
Jones  &  Co.,  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  weighing  nearly  10,000 
lbs.,  was  placed  in  the  tower  of  the  church.  They  were 
bought  by  private  subscription  and  by  special  gift,  at  a 
cost  of  $4,200.  The  largest  bell  at  the  top,  weighing 
2,432  pounds,  bears  the  inscription, 

Presented  in  the  name  of 

Dr.  Lowell  Mason, 

By  the  Orange  Valley  Church, 

and  the  text: 

"  Enter  into  His  gates    with    thanksgiving,  and  into  His  courts 
with  praise." 

The  four  large  bells  at  the  bottom,  weighing  1,500, 
1,369,    1,055  ar,d  798  pounds,  respectively,  are  inscribed: 


29 

"  Strength  and  beauty  are  in  His  Sanctuary." 

"  Great  is  the  Lord,  and  greatly  to  be  praised,  in  the  City  of  our 
God,  in  the  mountain  of  His  Holiness." 

"  We  have  thought    of    Thy    loving   kindness,    O  God,  in  the 
midst  of  Thy  Temple," 

"  In  His  Temple  doth  every  one  speak  of  His  Glory." 

Midway  between   the   upper   and   lower   tiers   are  five 
smaller  bells.    The  first,  weighing  72c  pounds,  inscribed  : 

■"  Peace  be  within  Thy  walls,  and  prosperity  within  Thy  Palaces." 
Presented  by  Aaron  Carter,  Jr. 

The  second,  weighing  646  pounds,  inscribed  : 

^'Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  House.     They  will  be  still 

praising  Thee." 

Presented  for  Peter  Meyers  Woodruff. 

The  third,  weighing  376  pounds,  inscribed: 

"  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song." 
Presented  for  Lucy  Allerton  Bacon. 

The  fourth,  weighing  413  pounds,  inscribed: 

"  Both  young  men  and  maidens,  old  men  and  children  ;  let  them 

praise  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Presented  by  the  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 

The  fifth,  weighing  413  pounds,  inscribed: 

"  Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings,  Thou  hast  perfected 

praise." 

Presented  by  Platt  K.  Dickinson, 

In  memory  of  his  little  son  Mortie. 


3° 

The  chimes  were  first  rung  at  a  meeting  of  the  Confer- 
ence of  Congregational  Churches  of  New  York  and 
vicinity,  which  met  with  this  church  on  the  18th  day  of 
June,  1870.  As  the  delegates,  some  200  in  number,  were 
coming  up  the  hill  from  the  station,  the  new  chimes 
struck  up  the  tunes  "  Old  Hundred  "  and  "America." 
On  this  occasion  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  was  Moder- 
ator of  the  Conference,  and  addresses  were  made  by  Drs. 
Storrs,  Clapp,  Strieby  and  Brown.  At  mid-day  a  colla- 
tion was  served  by  the  ladies  of  the  congregation  in  a 
mammoth  tent  in  the  adjoining  lot.  The  chimes  were 
rung  that  day  by  Mr.  I.  Remsen  Lane.  Among  those 
who  have  served  the  church  in  this  capacity  since  may 
be  mentioned  :  Messrs.  Richard  Russell,  William  Mor- 
row, Victor  Savale,  Frank  Matthews,  Alfred  Taylor, 
Almy  Adams  and  Frank  Jones. 

PICNICS    AND     FESTIVALS. 

It  was  a  pleasant  custom  in  the  early  days  of  the 
church  to  hold  an  annual  picnic  in  the  early  summer, 
which  was  attended  by  the  Sunday  School  and  the  whole 
congregation.  One  such  is  recorded  which  took  place 
soon  after  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Bacon  to  Miss  Frances  J. 
Mills,  in  1862,  which  attracted  many  guests  from  a  dis- 
tance, including  no  less  than  thirteen  prominent  ministers 
of  different  denominations.  Thus  early  did  the  Orange 
Valley  Church  become  a  social  power  in  the  community. 

The  first  Christmas  festival  was  held  by  the  Sunday- 
School  in  1 86 1. 


3* 

BENEVOLENT    WORK. 

From  the  beginning  of  its  history  this  church  has  been 
noted  for  its  benevolences.  Regular  contributions  have 
always  been  made  to  the  missionary  enterprises  of  our 
Congregational  Churches  and  to  local  charities.  Often 
these  gifts  have  been  large  and  generous. 

For  many  years  a  Ladies'  Sewing  Society  held  regular 
meetings,  and  through  their  efforts  many  valuable  boxes 
were  sent  to  needy  Home  Missionaries. 

At  one  time  much  interest  was  taken  in  the  education 
of  promising  young  men.  A  record  has  been  preserved 
of  two  who  received,  from  1867  to  1870,  about  $500  each 
from  this  church. 

IN    WAR    TIME. 

This  church  had  its  beginnings  in  the  exciting  days 
immediately  preceding  the  war — its  formal  organization 
having  been  completed  just  sixteen  days  before  the  firing 
on  Fort  Sumter.  As  may  be  supposed  from  its  having 
adopted  a  specifically  New  England  polity  of  government, 
the  sentiment  of  the  church  was  strongly  anti-slavery, 
and  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  both  pastor  and  peo- 
ple were  actively  interested  in  its  prosecution.  Mr. 
Bacon  was  a  recognized  leader  in  the  Union  party,  and 
was  always  a  favorite  speaker  on  political  platforms.  The 
church  was  active  in  raising  money  for  the  relief  of  the 
soldiers,  and  in  1864  the  pastor  was  given  a  six  weeks 
leave  of  absence  to  visit  the  field  in  the  service  of  the 
Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions.  He  visited  Sher- 
man's army  in  Georgia,  and  was  present  at  the  battle  of 
Resaca,  May  14-16,  1864. 


32 

On  Decoration  Day,  1869,  Dr.  Bacon  delivered  a 
memorial  address  at  Rosedale  Cemetery. 

During  his  residence  in  Orange,  General  George  B. 
McClellan  was  an  attendant  at  this  church  and  a  personal 
friend  of  its  Pastor.  There  is  preserved  a  letter  written 
by  Dr.  Bacon  to  General  McClellan  frankly  stating  the 
reasons  why  he  could  not  support  the  latter  for  the 
Presidency,  and  General  McClellan's  equally  frank  and 
courteous  letter  in  reply. 

THE    SECOND    VALLEY    CHURCH. 

In  1863,  largely  through  the  agency  of  Mr.  Abraham 
Baldwin,  actively  supported  by  Mr.  Bacon,  a  Sunday 
School  was  started  over  the  mountain  with  twenty-seven 
scholars.  It  soon  grew  to  100  members,  Mr.  Baldwin 
being  its  Superintendent,  and  its  teachers  mainly  coming 
from  this  church. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  December,  1864,  encouraged 
by  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  this  school  and  the  num- 
bers that  came  out  to  the  occasional  preaching  services 
there,  the  church  voted  to  assume  the  responsibility  for 
sustaining  this  Second  Mountain  Mission.  A  student  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  Rev.  P.  F.  Leavens,  now 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Passaic,  was 
engaged  to  preach,  and  regular  Sunday  services  were  held 
at  the  Mission  for  several  months. 

A  blessing  attended  these  labors,  and  in  1867  an  inde- 
pendent church  was  organized  there  and  recognized  by 
the  Council,  thirty  members  being  dismissed  from  this 
church  to  constitute  it.  This  Council,  of  which  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Badger  was  Moderator,  and  the  Rev.  Lyman  Abbott, 


33 

Scribe,  met  in  the  Orange  Valley  Chapel  May  23,  1867. 
The  church  thus  organized,  called  the  Second  Valley 
Church,  continued  in  existence  under  the  pastoral  care 
of  Rev.  Messrs.  Atkinson,  Walcott  and  Oliphant  until 
1880,  when  it  seemed  best  to  disband. 

THE    CHURCH    CREED. 

To  the  Council  which  was  called  to  recognize  this  new 
organization  were  referred  some  radical  changes  con- 
templated in  the  Manual  of  this  church.  The  original 
creed  statements  of  the  church  were  drawn  up  in  accord- 
ance with  the  form  commonly  in  use  among  Congrega- 
tional Churches.  Formal  assent  to  this  entire  creed  was 
required  of  all  who  became  members.  The  pastor,  how- 
ever, had  a  strong  and  growing  conviction  that  the 
Church  of  Christ  should  be  made  broad  enough  to  em- 
brace all  true  believers,  whatever  be  the  color  of  their 
creed,  and  its  conditions  of  membership  should  exclude 
none  who  truly  loved  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  During  the 
spring  of  1867  he  preached  a  series  of  sermons  on  The 
Apostles'  Creed,  and  at  its  close  proposed  that  the  con- 
ditions of  membership  be  so  changed  as  to  require  only 
assent  to  that  ancient  formula.  It  was  further  proposed 
that  a  more  detailed  statement  of  doctrinal  belief  be 
drawn  up  as  the  recognized  standard  of  the  church,  to 
which  all  its  pastors  and  officers  should  be  expected  to 
subscribe. 

These  proposed  changes  called  forth  much  opposition 
on  the  part  of  some  who  feared  the  result  of  seeming  to 
let  down  the  doctrinal  standard,  and  it  was  decided  to 
refer  the  whole  matter  to  Council.     In  the  Council  which 


34 

was  called  were  several  members  of  large  experience  and 
national  reputation,  among  whom  were  Rev.  Joseph  P. 
Thompson,  of  Broadway  Tabernacle;  Rev.  Wm.  I.  Bud- 
dington,  of  Brooklyn;  Rev.  L.  W.  Bacon,  Rev.  William 
B.  Brown,  Rev.  Lyman  Abbott  and  others.  After  a  long 
and  earnest  discussion,  resolutions  were  moved  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Buddington  and  unanimously  carried,  approving  the 
design  "  to  open  the  Communion  to  all  true  Christians 
and  believers,  and  at  the  same  time  to  maintain  the  great 
features  of  Evangelical  Christianity,"  and  also  the  plan 
"  to  separate  the  order  for  the  admission  of  members  and 
the  articles  of  doctrinal  belief,  as  being  one  practical 
mode  of  securing  both  Christian  Unity  and  Scriptural 
Truth." 

Enforced  by  this  declaration,  the  creed  statement 
which  was  thus  submitted  to  the  Council  and  approved 
by  them,  was  adopted  by  the  church  "  after  considerable 
exciting  discussion,"  as  its  permanent  creed,  to  be  held  by 
all  its  officers,  and  not  to  be  substantially  changed  with- 
out the  approval  of  a  similar  Council.  At  the  same  time 
the  Apostles'  Creed  was  fixed  upon  as  the  symbol  which 
should  be  assented  to  on  uniting  with  the  church. 

VARIOUS  ITEMS 

of  interest  in  connection  with  the  growth  and  working  of 
the  church,  may  be  mentioned. 

In  January,  1863,  a  prayer  and  conference  meeting  on 
Sunday  evening  began  to  be  held;  also  a  monthly  concert 
of  prayer  for  missions. 

The  hours  for  Sunday  services  were:  Sunday  School 
at  9  a.  m.,  preaching  at  10:30  a.  m.  and  3.  p.  m. 


35 

In  1864  the  name  of  the  organization  which  had  been 
incorporated  as  "The  First  Congregational  Church  of 
Orange,"  was  changed  to  "The  Orange  Valley  Church." 

In  November,  1866,  after  some  discussion,  in  which 
certain  members  of  the  church  strongly  opposed  the  in- 
novation, it  was  voted  to  adopt  the  use  of  the  Psalms  for 
responsive  reading  on  trial  for  three  or  six  months.  No 
harm  having  resulted,  the  custom  still  continues. 

For  three  years  before  the  regular  church  prayer  meet- 
ing was  removed  from  the  Valley  to  the  school-house  in 
the  rear  of  the  church,  a  neighborhood  prayer  meeting 
was  sustained  by  some  eight  or  ten  families  living  in  the 
vicinity  of  Highland  avenue,  meeting  in  rotation  at  the 
various  homes.  It  was  a  combination  of  prayer  meeting 
and  neighborhood  social,  and  was  greatly  prized. 

The  English  ivy,  which  graces  the  front  of  the  church 
edifice,  was  planted  by  Mr.  David  Tait,  the  slip  from 
which  it  grew  having  been  brought  from  Heidelberg 
Castle  and  presented  to  Dr.  Lowell  Mason. 

The  baptismal  font  was  a  gift  of  Mr.  James  Bell. 

This  church  has  always  been  prominent  in  maintaining 
the  fellowship  of  the  churches.  On  June  2,  1869,  the 
New  Jersey  Association  of  Churches  was  formed  here,  at 
which  time  the  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  R.  S. 
Storrs,  D.  D.,  of  Brooklyn,  from  the  text,  "As  He 
thinketh  in  His  heart,  so  is  He."  Dr.  Bacon  was  its  first 
Moderator. 

The  church  edifice  was  first  lighted  with  gas  in  1873; 
and  in  1874   a   system  of  ventilation  was  put  in,  costing 

$675- 

In  1874  the  pastoral  work  had  grown  to  be  so  pressing 


36 

that  the  church  for  several  months  employed  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Pettit  as  an  assistant  to  the  pastor.  The  building  on 
Tompkins  street,  which  was  known  as  the  Tower  House, 
was  rented  for  mission  purposes.  It  was  occupied  by 
Mr.  Pettit.  Prayer  meetings  and  social  gatherings  were 
held  there,  and  for  some  time  it  was  the  headquarters  for 
church  charities. 

The  first  Manual  of  the  church  was  prepared  by  Dr. 
Bacon  and  Mr.  William  D.  Porter. 

The  pastor's  salary  during  the  latter  years  of  the  first 
pastorate  was  $4,000. 

During  all  his  pastorate  Dr.  Bacon  was  actively  inter- 
ested in  public  affairs,  and  was  a  frequent  contributor  to 
the  press.  It  is  of  interest  to  record  that  he  was  one  of 
the  prime  movers  in  founding  the  New  England  Society 
of  Orange. 

DEATH    OF    THE    FIRST    PASTOR. 

Early  in  the  year  1876  the  arduous  labors  of  Dr.  Bacon 
in  behalf  of  the  church,  the  community  at  large,  and  the 
whole  sisterhood  of  churches  which  looked  to  him  as  an 
adviser  and  helper,  told  so  heavily  on  a  constitution 
which  was  never  robust,  that  he  felt  constrained  to  offer 
his  letter  of  resignation  as  pastor. 

By  unanimous  vote,  however,  the  church  declined  to 
accept  his  resignation,  and  a  leave  of  absence  for  eighteen 
months  was  granted  on  a  salary  of  $2,000,  in  the  hope 
that  rest  and  travel  might  effect  a  complete  restoration  to 
health.  On  two  other  occasions,  when  worn  out  with 
work,  the  church  had  generously  granted  him  similar 
leave  of  absence;  once  for  six  months  in   1865,  during 


37 

which  time  the  pulpit  had  been  supplied  by  the  Rev.  R. 
G.  Greene,  and  again  in  1873,  tne  pulpit  being  supplied 
for  eight  months  by  the  Rev.  Edward  J.  Newlin.  Dur- 
ing this  time  the  pastor  visited  California  and  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  and  the  rest  and  change  had  seemed  to 
bring  back  the  impaired  health. 

Now,  however,  in  1876,  it  soon  became  evident  that  his 
earthly  labors  were  nearing  the  end.  A  short  journey  to 
the  South  failing  to  bring  relief,  Dr.  Bacon  returned  to 
Orange  that  his  last  days  might  be  spent  amid  the  scenes 
of  his  labors  and  among  the  people  whom  he  loved. 

A  letter  full  of  tender  love  and  admonition,  and  frag- 
rant with  a  trustful  submission  to  the  will  of  the  Father, 
was  written  by  him  to  the  church  on  September  10th,  and 
on  the  15th  of  that  month,  in  the  year  1876,  he  was  called 
Home. 

An  immense  throng  of  loving  friends  from  far  and  wide 
gathered  at  the  church  at  the  funeral  services,  which  were 
impressively  conducted  by  the  acting  pastor,  Rev.  Joseph 
A.  Ely.  Mr.  William  Mason  presided  very  feelingly  at 
the  organ,  and  an  address,  eloquent  with  sympathy,  was 
delivered  by  the  Rev.  George  M.  Boynton,  of  Newark. 
Among  other  things  he  said  :  "  We  will  not  say,  to-day, 
with  the  sisters  of  him  whom  Jesus  loved,  '  Lord,  if  thou 
hadst  been  here  our  brother  had  not  died,'  but  '  Lord 
thou  hast  been  here,  and  our  brother  has  not  died,  but 
lives  with  Thee.'  " 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1877,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ellinwood 
preached  a  commemorative  discourse  on  the  life  of  the 
late  pastor,  from  Rev.  iii,  12  :  "  Him  thatovercometh  will 
I  make  a  pillar  in  the  Temple  of  my  God."     This  service 


3» 

was  on  the  occasion  of  the  completion  of  the  handsome 
memorial  window  which  had  been  inserted  in  the  west 
transept  of  the  church,  with  this  inscription: 

In  Loving   Memory  of 

Our  Pastor, 

George  B.  Bacon,  D.  D., 

who  died  Sept.  15,  1876. 

Gift  of  the  Sunday  School. 

"  If  I  may  but  touch  His  garment,    I  shall  be  whole." 

The  subject  represented  in  the  window  is  that  impres- 
sive incident  in  the  life  of  our  Lord  when  the  suffering 
woman  comes  up  behind  Him  in  the  press  and  kneels  to 
touch  the  hem  of  His  garment.  This  subject  was  sug- 
gested by  an  expressed  wish  of  Dr.  Bacon,  not  long  be- 
fore his  death,  that  he  might  preach  one  more  sermon  to 
his  people  from  those  words:  "If  I  may  but  touch  His 
garment,  I  shall  be  whole."  Dr.  Bacon's  last  public 
services  with  the  church  were  in  connection  with  the 
week  of  prayer  in  1876,  at  which  time  he  was  unusually 
earnest  and  fervent  in  prayer  for  the  descent  of  the  Holy- 
Spirit  and  a  revival  of  the  Lord's  Work. 

Little  need  is  there  at  this  time  to  speak  in  eulogy  of  a 
life  which  was  so  woven  into  the  hearts  of  the  Orange 
Valley  Church  as  was  Dr.  Bacon's,  which  had  stamped 
itself  so  deep  on  the  City  of  Orange  and  was  known  and 
loved  among  all  the  churches.  To  this  day,  after  nearly 
twenty  years,  his  memory  is  enshrined  in  many  hearts 
and  many  homes  in  Orange,  and  it  is  a  joy  to  his  succes- 
sors in  office  to  discover  constantly  in  their  visitations 
among  the  people  that  his  faithful  ministrations  are  yet 
bearing  fruit. 


39 

Dr.  Bacon's  pastorate  extended  over  a  period  of  fifteen 
years  and  six  months.  During  that  time,  or  rather  from 
the  organization  of  the  church  to  the  coming  of  Mr.  Ely, 
the  church  had  received  into  its  membership  432  persons, 
of  whom  205  were  on  Confession  of  Faith.  During  the 
same  period  it  had  lost,  as  nearly  as  can  be  determined 
by  the  records,  by  death  35,  and  by  removal  96,  making 
a  total  of  131.  There  was  then,  at  the  close  of  the  first 
pastorate,  a  church  membership  of  301.  Of  these,  69  are 
still  connected  with  the  church. 


MR.    ELY'S   PASTORATE. 


When  leave  of  absence  was  given  to  Dr.  Bacon  in  the 
spring  of  1876,  steps  were  immediately  taken  to  secure 
the  services  of  an  acting  pastor,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the 
church  and  society,  held  on  Sunday,  the  9th  of  April,  it 
was  unanimously  voted  to  invite  the  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Ely, 
of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  to  accept  that  office  during  the  ab- 
sence of  Dr.  Bacon.  The  invitation  was  accepted,  and 
Mr.  Ely  began  his  service  with  the  church  on  April  30th. 
He  was  a  recent  graduate  of  Rochester  Theological  Sem- 
inary, and  was  ordained  in  the  Orange  Valley  Church 
Tune  21,  1876,  by  a  Council,  of  which  Rev.  A.  H.  Brad- 
ford was  Scribe. 

After  serving  the  church  very  acceptably  for  about  one 
year,  Mr.  Ely  was  called  by  vote  of  the  church  and  society 
to  the  permanent  pastorate  at  a  salary  of  $3,000.  He 
was  installed  in  the  office  on  the  27th  of  June,  1877,  by  a 
Council,  of  which  the  Rev.  Charles  H.  Oliphant  was 
Scribe. 

Mr.  Ely's  pastorate,  which  extended  through  six  and 
one-half  years,  was  marked  by  faithful  labors  on  his  part 
and  by  a  steady  and  gratifying  growth  in  the  church. 
During  his  ministry  155  were  received  into  its  fellowship, 
of  whom  90  come  on  Confession  of  Faith.     Two   events 


of  historical  importance  occurred  during  Mr.  Ely's 
pastorate.  These  were  the  raising  of  the  debt  and  the 
building  of  the  chapel. 

THE    DEBT    RAISING. 

Up  to  1878  the  bonded  indebtedness  of  $15,000,  in- 
curred in  the  erection  of  the  church  edifice,  had  been 
carried  by  the  society.  This,  together  with  a  floating  in- 
debtedness, at  some  times  quite  large,  had  proved  a  heavy 
weight  and  a  serious  hindrance  to  the  church.  At  the 
annual  meeting  of  that  year  it  was  unanimously  voted  to 
undertake  the  lifting  of  the  entire  indebtedness. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Carter,  Spottis- 
woode,  Dale,  Hamilton  and  Lane,  was  appointed  to  de- 
vise some  suitable  plan  of  action.  At  an  adjourned 
meeting,  held  June  16,  1878,  this  Committee  reported 
three  recommendations,  which  were  adopted,  as  follows  : 

1.  That  the  subscriptions  and  payments  be  extended 
over  a  term  of  three  years. 

2.  That  the  payments  be  made  weekly,  so  as  to  make 
it  easy  and  within  the  reach  of  all  and  burdensome  to 
none. 

3.  That  every  member  of  the  congregation  be  invited 
to  take  part  in  the  noble  work,  that  from  the  oldest  to 
the  youngest,  all,  even  the  children  in  the  Sunday  School, 
may  feel  that  they  individually  have  an  interest  in  this 
matter. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  eight  gentlemen  and  eight 
ladies,  was  thereupon  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions, 
who  began  their  work  at  once,  and  in  a  few  minutes  re- 
ported pledges  amounting  to  about  $13,000.     This  meet- 


42 

ing  was  held  at  the  close  of  the  Sunday  morning  service, 
and  at  8  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  peo- 
ple came  together  again,  and  it  was  announced  that  an 
amount  sufficient  to  cover  the  entire  indebtedness  had 
been  subscribed. 

As  a  result  of  this  Sabbath  day's  work,  "  Much  joy  was 
felt  and  expressed  by  all  present,"  says  the  chronicler, 
*'  that  the  great  work  was  completed,  more  especially  as 
it  had  been  effected  without  the  assistance  of  outside  aid, 
or  under  the  impulse  of  temporary  excitement,  but  each 
one  quietly  uniting  in  the  general  determination  to  rid 
the  church  of  its  burden  to  the  utmost  extent  of  his  or 
her  capacity.  After  a  heartfelt  and  thankful  prayer  to 
God  for  His  great  goodness  by  the  Pastor,  the  meeting 
adjourned." 

The  plan  thus  mutually  agreed  upon  was  successfully 
carried  out,  and  at  the  annual  meeting  in  June,  i88r,  the 
bonded  indebtedness  was  reported  as  paid  in  full.  In- 
deed, so  faithfully  and  enthusiastically  had  the  church 
given  themselves  to  the  work,  that  giving  had  become  a 
habit,  and  when  it  was  announced  that  the  Society  now 
stood  free  of  all  indebtedness,  an  additional  sum  of  be- 
tween three  and  four  thousand  dollars  was  immediately 
raised  as  a  thank-offering  to  make  needed  repairs  on  the 
buildings.  This  incident  in  the  history  of  the  church 
well  illustrates  two  proverbs  :  "  They  can  who  think 
they  can;"  and  "  There  is  that  giveth  and  yet  increaseth." 

THE    NEW    CHAPEL. 

While  the  effort  to  raise  the  church  debt  was  still  in 
progress,  active  measures  began  to  be  taken  looking 
toward  the  building  of  a  chapel.     Since   187 1   a  Chapel 


43 

Committee  had  been  in  existence,  but  their  efforts  did 
not  materialize,  and  in  1878  they  were  discharged  from 
further  service,  and  a  new  committee,  consisting  of 
Messrs.  Dale,  Lane,  Bell,  Carter,  Newell  and  Mason,  was 
appointed.  In  April  of  that  year  the  chapel  fund,  which 
had  been  started  in  1871,  was  increased  by  the  proceeds 
of  a  fair  and  loan  exhibition,  which  was  held  by  the 
ladies  of  the  church  in  the  hall  of  the  Dearborn-Morgan 
School,  and  which  netted  the  sum  of  $1,980.  A  two 
days'  fair  was  also  held  in  the  Tower  House  in  the  Val- 
ley, and  a  "  dairy-maid's  supper  "  was  given  in  Temper- 
ance Hall,  both  netting  large  sums.  The  lot  of  land 
northwest  of  the  church,  which  had  been  purchased  of 
Mr.  Mason  seven  years  before  on  which  to  build  a 
chapel,  was  now  sold  to  Rev.  Dr.  Ellinvvood  for  $4,500, 
and  it  was  voted  that  this  amount  be  turned  towards  the 
chapel  fund.  Various  sums  were  contributed  for  the 
purpose,  among  them  a  gift  of  $5,000  from  Mr.  Aaron 
Carter,  and  in  March,  1879,  it  was  voted  to  proceed  to 
the  erection  of  a  stone  chapel,  at  the  rear  of  the  church 
and  joining  it,  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  $13,000.  The 
work  was  executed  by  Mr.  James  Bell,  in  a  style  corres- 
ponding with  the  church,  and  the  new  edifice  was  ready 
for  occupancy  in  January,  1880.  A  social  gathering  was 
held  in  it  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  28th  of  that  month, 
at  which  Mr.  William  D.  Porter  read  a  descriptive  and 
historical  poem. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  June  following,  it  was  re- 
ported to  the  church  that  the  chapel  was  finished  and  all 
bills  paid.  The  Treasurer's  books,  which  were  kept  with 
great  care  and  accuracy  by  Mr.  I.  Remsen  Lane,  show 
that  the  total  cost  was  $14,694. 


44 

It  is  of  interest  to  record  that  the  pulpit  furniture  of 
the  chapel  was  purchased  by  some  of  the  younger  girls 
of  the  church,  with  money  raised  at  a  fair  ;  that  the  clock 
was  secured  in  a  similar  way  by  another  fair  gotten  up 
by  the  girls  in  Miss  DeLancey's  School  ;  that  the  desk 
and  easy  chair  for  the  pastor's  study  were  the  gift  of  a 
Sunday  School  class,  and  that  the  stained-glass  window 
in  the  ladies'  parlor  was  presented  by  Mr.  Ely  himself, 
in  memory  of  his  father  and  mother.  It  was  copied 
from  a  window  in  the  Cathedral  in  Glasgow  by  a  local 
artist,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Ely,  and  is  symbolical  of 
Charity,  the  design  illustrating  the  text  underneath  : 
"  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat,"  Matt, 
xxv,  35. 

During  Mr.  Ely's  pastorate  a  weekly  prayer-meeting 
was  sustained  in  the  Valley,  sometimes  at  private  houses, 
which  resulted  in  turning  the  attention  of  many  towards 
the  church  and  in  strengthening  the  hold  of  the  Christian 
life  upon  them.  Mr.  Ely  is  still  remembered  with  great 
affection  in  many  families  with  whom  he  was  thus  brought 
in  contact.  Particularly  is  this  true  of  many  German 
families,  with  whom  the  pastor  could  converse  in  their 
native  tongue. 

During  this  pastorate  also,  the  woman's  work  of  the 
church  was  widened  in  its  scope.  The  Sewing  Society 
had  been  organized  in  Dr.  Bacon's  time,  and  had  been 
efficient  in  the  preparation  and  sending  of  many  boxes  to 
needy  Home  Missionaries.  No  devotional  meetings, 
however,  had  been  held.  In  February,  1880,  a  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  was  started,  with  Mrs.  R.  H. 
Thayer  as   its    first   President.      This    Society    became 


45 

auxiliary  to  the  Philadelphia  Branch  of  the  Woman's 
Board,  and  held  monthly  meetings.  It  continued  in  ex- 
istence until  it  was  absorbed  in  another  organization  in 
1892,  and  during  these  twelve  years  raised  $1,485  for 
Foreign  Missions. 

Mr.  Ely  was  largely  instrumental  in  establishing  the 
Bureau  of  Associated  Charities  in  Orange,  of  which 
organization  Mrs.  Van  Vechten  was  the    first  President. 

Mr.  Ely  resigned  his  pastorate  in  September,  1883. 
The  church,  by  a  large  majority  vote,  at  first  declined  to 
accept  his  resignation,  and  requested  him  to  withdraw 
it.  It  seemed  best  to  him,  however,  to  persist  in  his 
determination,  and  the  resignation  was  finally  accepted  ; 
the  action  being  ratified  by  a  Council  of  which  the  Rev. 
Rollin  Stone  was  Moderator,  which  met  Nov.  22,  1883. 
A  parting  gift  of  $600  was  presented  to  Mr.  Ely  by  the 
Society,  in  token  of  their  esteem  and  loving  remembrance. 


DR.   RANKIN'S   PASTORATE. 


During  the  interim  of  eleven  months  between  the 
second  and  third  pastorates,  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by 
various  ministers.  Prominent  among  them  was  the  Rev. 
T.  T.  Munger,  of  North  Adams,  Mass  ,  and  many  in  the 
church  were  strongly  in  favor  of  calling  him  to  the 
pastorate.  A  majority,  however,  favored  calling  the  Rev. 
J.  E.  Rankin,  D.  D.,  who  for  fifteen  years  had  been 
Pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  A  call  was  accordingly  extended  to  the  latter  on 
June  6,  1884,  to  become  Pastor  at  a  salary  of  $5,000. 
The  call  was  accepted,  and  after  spending  three  months 
abroad,  Dr.  Rankin  began  his  labors  in  October.  On 
the  13th  of  January  he  was  installed  Pastor  of  the  church, 
Dr.  Wm.  M.  Taylor,  of  the  Broadway  Tabernacle,  New 
York,  preaching  the  sermon,  and  Rev.  M  E.  Strieby,  D. 
D.,  Secretary  of  the  A.  M.  A.,  offering  the  prayer. 

At  the  beginning  of  Dr.  Rankin's  pastorate  there  were 
372  members  on  the  roll  of  the  church.  Within  fifteen 
months  seventy-one  had  been  added  to  it,  of  whom, 
forty-five  were  on  Confession  of  Faith.  Dr.  Rankin  re- 
mained Pastor  of  the  church  for  five  years  and  three 
months,  until  he  was  called  to  the  Presidency  of  Howard 
University  in  Washington,  a  work  for  which  his  long  ac- 
quaintance with  the  problems  affecting  the  negro  race 
eminently  fitted  him. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  his  pastorate,  certain  differ- 


47 

ences  of  opinion  among  the  members  as  to  matters  of 
doctrine  and  administration,  which,  in  their  origin  ante- 
dated his  coming,  unhappily  deepened  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  cause  a  division.  On  this  account,  in  the  year  1887, 
letters  of  dismission  were  granted  to  about  no  of  the 
members  to  form  a  new  church  under  Presbyterian 
auspices,  which  has  since  been  known  as  the  Hillside 
Presbyterian  Church. 

THE    PARSONAGE. 

Up  to  1886  the  Pastors  of  the  Orange  Valley  Church 
lived  in  rented  houses  or  boarded  with  their  families — 
excepting  Mr.  Ely,  who  remained  unmarried — in  private 
houses.  Early  in  Dr.  Rankin's  pastorate  the  matter  be- 
gan to  be  agitated  of  building  a  parsonage,  and  on  March 
16,  1886,  at  a  meeting  called  to  consider  the  advisability 
of  taking  this  step,  it  was  decided  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  solicit  subscriptions  to  build  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed 
$8,000.  This  committee  consisted  of  seven  gentlemen 
and  five  ladies,  of  whom  Mr.  D.  A.  Heald  was  Chairman. 

The  Pastor  thereupon  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Trustees 
voluntarily  consenting  to  have  his  salary  reduced  to  $4,- 
000  just  as  soon  as  the  parsonage  should  be  provided  for 
his  use  free  of  rent.  It  was  then  decided  to  proceed  at 
once  to  build  the  parsonage,  not  to  exceed  $8,000  m 
cost.  The  limit  was  afterwards  raised  to  $10,000,  of 
which  $2,500  was  subscribed  in  cash,  and  the  remainder 
borrowed  on  a  mortgage  covering  the  property.  The 
work  of  building  was  pushed  forward  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  James  Bell,  and  was  completed  at  a  cost  of 
about  $9,000.     The  parsonage,  which  was   called   High- 


48 

land  Manse,  was  first  occupied  by  the  Pastor's  family  in 
the  autumn  of   1886. 

THE  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E. 

The  young  people  of  the  church,  under  Dr.  Rankin's 
leadership,  organized  a  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in 
October,  1886.  It  was  the  first  society  of  that  name  in 
the  Oranges  and  the  third  in  New  Jersey,  Dr.  Emory 
W.  Given  being  its  first  President.  It  has  always  been  a 
source  of  no  small  satisfaction  to  the  members  of  this 
Society  that  their  first  Pastor  was  the  author  of  the  hymn 
which  has  attained  such  world-wide  popularity,  and 
which  has  everywhere  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  Fare- 
well Christian  Endeavor  Hymn  :  "God  Be  With  You 
Till  We  Meet  Again."  Another  of  Dr.  Rankin's  hymns, 
"Keep  Your  Colors  Flying,"  was  adopted  at  the  Saratoga 
convention  in  1886  as  the  banner  hymn  of  the  United 
Society. 

THE    Y.    M.    C.    A. 

Early  in  Dr.  Rankin's  pastorate,  and  largely  through 
the  activity  of  Mr.  John  D.  Cutter,  afterwards  Deacon  of 
the  Valley  Church,  Mr.  1).  L.  Moody  came  to  Orange 
and  held  a  series  of  evangelistic  meetings.  These 
meetings  were  specially  blessed  to  this  Church  in  a  large 
ingathering.  At  their  close,  a  meeting  was  held,  over 
which  Dr.  Rankin  presided,  and  at  which  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  the  Oranges  was  organ- 
ized, the  Pastor  of  the  Valley  Church,  by  special 
request,  being  the  first  signer  of  its  Constitution. 

On  Decoration  Day,  1885,  by  invitation  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  Dr.  Rankin  delivered  the 
Memorial  address  in  Music  Hall. 


49 

For  ten  years  previous  to  1887,  the  music  of  the 
Church  was  led  by  Mr.  Charles  F.  Whiting,  who 
also  did  effective  service  in  the  arrangement  of 
flowers  and  other  Church  decorations  In  the  spring  of 
1888,  a  choir  was  organized,  of  which  Mr.  William  H. 
Bryan  was  chorister,  and  Miss  Cornelia  V.  Hutchings, 
organist.  Miss  Stella  Rosenblatt  was  engaged  as  con- 
tralto and  Miss  Mabel  Studdiford,  as  soprano.  At  this 
time,  also,  the  "  Carmina  Sanctorum  "  was  adopted  as 
the  Church  singing  book. 

Mr.  John  K.  Milne  began  his  services  as  Sexton  in 
June,  1887. 

In  June,  1885,  the  time  of  holding  the  weekly  prayer- 
meeting  was  changed  from  Friday  to  Tuesday  evening, 
to  conform  to  the  practice  of  a  majority  of  the  churches 
in  the  Oranges. 

It  was  during  this  pastorate  that  the  Church  first 
adopted  the  use  of  unfermented  wine  at  the  Communion. 

Dr.  Rankin  was  called  to  the  Presidency  of  Howard 
University  in  the  fall  of  1889,  but  remained  with  the 
Church  until  the  first  of  January  of  the  following  year, 
being  dismissed  by  the  Council  which  installed  his  suc- 
cessor in  June,  1890.  A  valuable  gift  of  silver  was 
presented  to  him  at  his  departure,  by  his  people,  in 
token  of  their  confidence  and  esteem.  Several  months 
afterwards,  and  after  his  successor  was  in  office,  the 
Church,  prompted  largely  by  their  interest  in  their 
former  Pastor,  made  a  gift  of  $1,000  to  Howard  Univer- 
sity to  found  a  scholarship. 

At  the  close  of  Dr.  Rankin's  pastorate  there  were  325 
names  on  the  membership  roll. 


MR.    SAVAGE'S   PASTORATE. 


It  is  too  early  to  write  the  story  of  the  present  pastor- 
ate. History  in  the  process  of  making  cannot  be 
recorded,  and  the  events  of  the  past  six  years,  with 
which  we  all  are  familiar,  are  only  the  materials  out  of 
which  history  is  made. 

The  present  Pastor  found  on  his  coming,  the  material 
equipment  of  the  Church  in  perfect  order,  and  all  lines 
of  Church  work  well  organized.  To  the  first  Pastor  it 
was  given,  with  the  co-operation  of  a  generous  people, 
to  lay  the  foundations  and  erect  the  house  of  public 
worship  To  the  second,  to  relieve  the  Church  of  debt 
and  erect  the  chapel  for  the  use  of  the  Sunday  School 
and  social  meetings.  To  the  third,  to  organize  the  army 
of  young  people  and  erect  the  Pastor's  home.  To  the 
fourth,  also,  was  given  the  work  of  a  builder,  but  it  was 
the  ever  urgent  work  of  strengthening  and  edifying  the 
Church  in  its  spiritual  upbuilding.  With  what  success  it 
has  been  done  cannot  now  be  recorded.  Some  facts 
relating  to  the  present  pastorate  may,  however,  be  placed 
on  record  for  the  benefit  of  future  historians. 

On  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Rankin,  a  committee  of 
twenty-five  persons  was  appointed  to  secure  a  new  Pas- 
tor. Their  attention  was  directed  to  the  Rev.  Charles 
A.  Savage,  at  that  time  Pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  in  Enfield,  Mass.,  and  he  was  invited  to  come  to 


5' 

Orange  and  occupy  the  pulpit  for  a  single  Sabbath, 
which  he  did  on  the  12th  of  January,  1890  A  com- 
mittee of  the  Church,  consisting  of  T.  F.  Johnson  and 
James  H.  Noyes,  afterwards  visited  him  at  his  home  in 
Enfield,  and  on  the  23d  of  February,  he  received  a  unan- 
imous call  to  the  pastorate  by  the  Church  and  society. 
This  call  he  accepted,  and  on  Easter  Sunday,  April  6, 
1S90,  he  began  his  labors. 

Mr.  Savage  is  a  native  of  Vermont,  being  descended 
from  an  unbroken  line  of  Congregational  ancestors, 
reaching  back  250  years.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College  and  of  Yale  Theological  Seminary,  and 
before  coming  to  Orange,  had  been  a  Professor  in 
Robert  College,  in  Constantinople,  and  Pastor  in  Berk- 
eley, Cab,  and  Enfield,  Mass.  With  his  family,  consist- 
ing of  a  wife  and  two  children,  he  came  to  occupy  the 
parsonage  the  last  of  April,  1890. 

A  Council  was  called  for  the  installation  of  Mr.  Savage 
on  the  19th  of  June.  Of  this  Council,  at  which  repre- 
sentatives of  twenty-five  churches  were  present,  the  Rev. 
A.  H.  Bradford,  D.  D.,  of  Montclair,  was  Moderator, 
and  the  Rev.  Frank  Goodwin,  of  Glen  Ridge,  Scribe. 
The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  R.  R.  Meredith, 
D.  D.,  of  Brooklyn,  from  Matt,  vii,  11;  the  installing 
prayer  was  by  the  Rev.  D.  T.  Fiske,  D.  D.,  of  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.,  father-in-law  of  the  Pastor;  the  charge  to 
the  Pastor,  by  the  Rev.  Fritz  W.  Baldwin,  of  East 
Orange;  the  charge  to  the  people,  by  the  Rev.  M.  E. 
Strieby,  D.  D.,  and  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  by  the 
Rev.  A.  H.  Bradford,  D  D.,  who  had  performed  the 
same  office  at  the  installation  of  the   two  preceding  Pas- 


52 

tors  of  the  Church  Mr.  Savage  began  his  pastorate  on 
a  salary  of  $2,500,  with  the  free  use  of  the  parsonage. 
In  1893  it  was  raised  to  $3,000. 

Of  the  more  important  events  connected  with  this 
pastorate  up  to  the  present  time  may  be  mentioned 
the  following: 

women's  benevolent  work. 

In  March,  1892,  all  the  benevolent  work  of  the  women 
of  the  Church  was  consolidated  into  one  organization, 
called  the  "  Woman's  Society  for  Christian  Work."  Its 
branches  of  effort  are  Home  Missions,  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, Social  Fellowship  and  Church  Aid.  An  effort  was 
made  to  secure  from  as  many  of  the  ladies  as  possible, 
contributions  of  a  cent  a  day,  to  be  divided  between 
Home  and  Foreign  Missions. 

In  this  way,  and  by  additional  contributions,  the 
Woman's  Society,  in  the  five  years  of  its  existence,  has 
raised  about  $1,400  for  missions,  besides  sending  valu- 
able boxes  to  home  missionaries  each  year.  The  Pastor's 
wife  has  been  President  of  the  organization  from  its 
beginning. 

The  young  ladies  of  the  Church,  under  a  separate 
organization,  called  the  Young  Ladies'  Mission  Band, 
have  done  very  efficient  work,  and  in  six  years  have 
raised  $862  for  Foreign  Missions.  Much  benevolent 
work  has  also  been  done  by  the  women  of  the  Church  in 
distributing  its  charities  among  needy  families  in  the 
neighborhood.  One  member  of  this  Church,  Miss  Annie 
H.  Bradshaw,  has  been  since  1888  a  missionary  of  the 
American  Board  in  Japan. 


53 

In  November,  T893,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Branch  was  the  guest  of  this  auxiliary.  To  pro- 
mote an  interest  in  missionary  intelligence,  a  missionary 
library  was  started  in  189s,  which  now  numbers  fifty- 
three  volumes,  some  of  great  value.  For  several  months 
during  1893  and  1894,  an  Italian  mission  was  sustained 
by  the  Church,  in  its  chapel  in  Tompkins  street,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  A  missionary,  the 
Rev.  G.  B.  Gozzelino,  was  employed,  and  some  $500  was 
invested  in  the  enterprise.  It  was  discontinued  because, 
owing  to  the  financial  depression,  many  of  its  constit- 
uency removed  from  this  vicinity.  Several  of  this 
nationality  have  been  frequent  attendants  at  the  Church 
and  one  Italian  child  was  baptized  by  the  Pastor. 

EVANGELISTIC    SERVICES. 

In  January,  1893,  a  series  of  evangelistic  meetings 
was  held  in  this  Church,  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Ford  C. 
Ottman,  of  Newark,  in  which  the  Hillside  and  German 
Presbyterian  Churches,  and  the  workers  in  Emmanuel 
Baptist  Chapel  united  with  us.  Large  numbers  attended 
and  deep  interest  was  manifested.  As  a  result  of  the 
meetings,  twenty  persons  joined  this  Church  at  the  March 
communion. 

CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR. 

The  Endeavor  Society,  organized  during  Dr.  Rankin's 
pastorate,  has  maintained  a  steady  and  vigorous  life. 
Its  members  have  been  loyal  to  the  Church  and  faithful 
along  various  lines  of  Christian  work.  Its  meetings  are 
held  on  Sunday  evenings,  after  the  Church  service,  and 
have  proved  stimulating  in   the   Christian  life.     Most  of 


54 

its  member  contribute  systematically  by  the  envelope 
system  to  the  support  of  the  Society  and  for  missionary 
objects.  In  the  spring  of  1896,  a  Christian  Endeavor 
Union  of  the  Oranges  was  started  and  Mr.  Savage  was 
chosen  its  first  President. 

JUNIOR    ENDEAVOR. 

In  the  very  beginning  of  the  pastorate,  a  Junior 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  was  organized  by  the 
Pastor's  wife,  meeting  on  Friday  afternoons.  After  a 
feeble  existence  for  two  or  three  years  it  took  deep  root 
and  developed  a  more  vigorous  life.  It  is  now  the  most 
promising  organization  of  the  Church,  having  some 
seventy-five  members,  who  are  surprisingly  regular  in 
attendance  and  are  doing  faithful,  earnest  work.  For 
two  years  Mrs.  Savage  has  been  Superintendent  of 
Junior  Endeavor  work  in  Essex  County. 

THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

The  Sunday  School,  during  the  six  years,  has  been 
under  the  faithful  superintendency  of  S.  A.  Condict, 
and  the  junior  department  has  greatly  flourished  under 
the  care  of  Miss  Emma  Spottiswoode  and  Miss  Bessie 
Johnson.  For  some  years  the  junior  department  has 
supported  a  Japanese  student,  Victor  M.  Hino,  a  protege 
of  Miss  Bradshaw,  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Doshisha,  in  Kioto.  The  main  school  has  kept  up  a 
scholarship  in  the  Hampton  Institute,  in  Virginia,  and 
helped  to  support  an  Armenian  girl  in  the  Girls  College, 
in  Scutari.  In  the  six  years,  the  Sunday  School  has 
contributed  $1,115  for  benevolent  causes. 


55 

THE    MEN'S    LEAGUE. 

In  the  spring  of  1892,  an  effort  was  made  to  increase 
the  interest  in  the  Sunday  evening  services  by  a  series 
of  readings  and  lectures  on  the  life  of  Christ,  which 
were  illustrated  with  the  stereopticon,  through  the  kind- 
ness of  the  Hon.  H.  H.  Truman  Large  congregations 
were  present  at  all  these  services,  and  a  deep  impression 
was  made.  In  the  autumn  of  1893,  a  Men's  League  was 
organized  to  aid  the  Pastor  in  promoting  the  interest  in 
these  Sunday  night  services.  This  it  has  done  by  pro- 
viding extra  music  and  a  printed  programme,  and  in 
various  ways  making  the  services  attractive  The  re- 
sults have  been  a  considerable  increase  in  the  attendance. 

The  expenses  incurred  by  the  League  have  mainly 
been  met  by  voluntary  contributions. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  pastorate,  there  have  been 
union  services  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  alternating  year  by 
year  between  this  and  the  Hillside  Presbyterian  Church; 
Sunday  School  festivals  every  year  at  Christmas;  an 
observance  of  the  week  of  prayer;  a  recognition  of 
Good  Friday  and  Easter;  weekly  prayer  meetings  on 
Tuesday  evening;  a  monthly  missionary  concert  the 
first  Tuesday  evening  of  the  month;  the  first  week  of 
the  month  regarded  as  Missionary  Week;  charitable 
offerings  the  second  Sunday  of  the  month;  a  quiet  Sun- 
day afternoon  sacramental  service  once  in  two  months, 
preceded  by  a  preparatory  lecture  on  Friday  evening; 
the  annual  Church  meeting  on  the  first  Sunday  in  June, 
followed  by  a  church  social  reunion  and  business  meet- 
ing on  Friday  evening,  and  an  observance  of  Children's 
Day  on  the  second  Sundav  in  June. 


56 

At  this  time  the  Pastor  has  distributed  prizes  to  the 
children  for  regular  attendance  at  Church,  and  Child- 
ren's Day,  in  June,  and  Christmas  Sunday,  in  December, 
have  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  special  occasions  for 
infant  baptism.  These  regular  services  and  observances 
are  mentioned,  not  as  being,  all  of  them,  peculiar  to  the 
present  pastorate,  but  as  indicating  the  established 
usages  of  the  Church  at  the  present  time. 

CHURCH    REVENUE. 

In  1 89 1,  the  plan  was  adopted  of  raising  the  revenue 
of  the  Church  by  voluntary  contributions,  in  place  of 
the  former  system,  the  renting  of  pews,  except  in  cases 
where  persons  preferred  to  pay  pew  rent.  This  com- 
bination of  the  two  methods  has  proved  successful. 
The  first  year  the  experiment  was  tried  closed  without 
any  deficiency — a  thing  almost  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  the  Church.  The  records  show  that  almost 
every  year  since  the  organization  was  started  has  seen  a 
gap  between  its  receipts  and  expenditures — in  one  year, 
1875,  the  deficit  reaching  $1,300.  To  the  credit  of  the 
Church  it  should  be  recorded,  however,  that  its  habitual 
custom  has  been  to  meet  the  deficiency  at  once,  so  as  to 
begin  the  new  year  free  of  debt.  During  the  last  six 
years  the  annual  deficiency,  when  one  has  occurred,  has 
been  much  less  than  during  some  of  the  earlier  years  of 
the  Church  and  has  always  been  effaced  before  the  an- 
nual meeting. 

In  the  autumn  of  1891,  the  chapel  interior  was  thor- 
oughly renovated,  the  walls  tinted  and  new  carpets  laid, 
at  an  expense  of  some  $200,  a  large  part  of  which  was 
raised  by  the  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E. 


57 

In  1895,  it  became  necessary  to  expend  a  large  amount 
in  the  repair  of  the  organ,  and  the  ladies  of  the  society 
volunteered  to  hold  a  fair  to  raise  the  needed  funds. 
The  fair  was  held  on  the  25th  and  26th  of  April,  after- 
noon and  evening,  the  Woman's  Society,  the  Young 
Ladies'  Mission  Band  and  the  King's  Daughters  all  work- 
ing earnestly  for  its  success.  The  net  amount  raised  was 
$700,  which  was  sufficient  to  repair  the  organ,  purchase 
a  new  furnace  and  repair  the  chapel  kitchen. 

During  the  six  years  the  Church  has  raised  for  its  own 
support  about  $35,600,  and  has  contributed  to  charitable 
objects,  approximately,  $13,850,  of  which  $3,288  was 
raised  by  the  ladies;  in  all,  nearly  $50,000.  If  this 
amount  be  averaged  among  the  resident  membership  of 
the  Church,  it  would  appear  that  each  member  has  con- 
tributed about  $200,  or  ^33  a  year. 

At  the  close  of  Dr.  Rankin's  pastorate,  the  names  of 
325  persons  were  standing  on  the  Church  roll,  a  large 
number,  however,  having  been  for  a  long  time  absent 
from  Orange.  Of  these  names,  66  were  dropped  on 
revision  of  the  roll,  leaving  259  who  should  be  regarded 
as  active  members  of  the  Church,  although  not  all  were 
residents,  at  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Savage's  ministry 
During  the  six  years  since  then,  107  have  been  added— 
61  on  confession  of  faith  and  46  by  letter.  There  have 
been  68  names  removed— 50  by  letter  and  18  by  death — 
leaving  a  membership  at  this  date  of  298,  a  net  increase 
of  39.     Fifty-eight  infant  children  have  been  baptized. 


5S 

GENERAL    SUMMARY. 

Since  the  founding  of  the  Church,  895  persons  have 
been  members  of  the  organization,  487  having  been 
added  on  confession  of  faith,  an  average  of  about  14  a 
year.  Of  the  remainder,  209  brought  letters  from  Pres- 
byterian churches,  105  from  Congregational,  30  from, 
Methodist,  17  from  Reformed,  11  from  Episcopal  and 
9  from  Baptist.  The  record  of  the  early  benevolences 
of  the  Church  has  been  lost.  As  nearly  as  can  be 
ascertained,  during  the  last  thirty  years  of  its  history, 
there  have  been  contributed,  approximately,  $64,000  to 
charitable  causes. 


- 

~^^^^^H 

■Hfe 


V 


!    i! 


MM 


Officers  of  the  Orange  Valley  Church 

From  1860  to  1896. 


PASTORS. 

Rev.  George  B.  Bacon,  D.  D..  Ordained  and  Installed   1861. 

Died   1876. 
Rev.  Jos.  A.  Ely,  Ordained  and  Installed  1877.    Resigned  1883. 
Rev.  J.  E.  Rankin,  D.  D.,  Installed  1885.     Resigned  1889. 
Rev.  Chas.  A.  Savage,  Installed  1890. 


Robert  H.  Thayer. 
Aaron  Carter. 
Richard  Russell. 
Alexander  T.  Moore. 
James  Bell. 
Alexander  Brownlie. 
John  D.  Cutter. 
Robert  H.  Thayer. 
Stephen  A.  Condict. 
Emery  W.  Given. 
Richard  Russell. 
Frank  F.  Ford. 
Theo.  F.  Johnson. 
James  Bell. 
Frank  F.  Ford. 
Thomas  S.  Waterman. 
H.  M.  Matthews. 
Noah  C.  Ball. 
Alfred  B  Johnson. 
Richard  Russell. 
J.  Smith  Pierson. 


DEACONS. 

Elected 

Elected 

i860. 

Abraham  Baldwin. 

1879. 

i860. 

Dr.  Lowell  Mason. 

1880. 

i860. 

Aaron  A.  Smith. 

1 88l. 

1861. 

James  Bell. 

1882. 

1862. 

Doras  L.  Stone. 

1883. 

1863. 

Aaron  A.  Smith. 

18S4. 

1864. 

Dr.  Lowell  Mason. 

1885. 

1865. 

Doras  L.  Stone. 

1885. 

1866. 

Aaron  A.  Smith. 

1885. 

1868. 

Dr.  Lowell  Mason. 

1886. 

1868. 

Alexander  T.  Moore. 

1887. 

1869. 

Aaron  Carter,  Jr. 

1887. 

1869. 

John  Wiley. 

1888. 

1870. 

John  Wiley. 

1889. 

1871. 

Alexander  T.  Moore. 

1890. 

1872. 

James  Bell. 

1 89I. 

1873. 

Lowell  Mason. 

1892. 

1874. 

Aaron  Carter. 

1893. 

1875. 

George  L.  Dale. 

IS93. 

1876. 

Alexander  T.  Moore. 

1894. 

1877. 

James  Bell. 

1895. 

1878. 

Lowell  Mason. 

6o 


STANDING  COMMITTER. 


Elected. 

i860.     Lowell  Mason,  Jr. 
i860.     George  W.  Smith'. 
i860.     F.  W.  Newton. 
i860.     James  Bell. 
i860.     Enoch  Condit. 
i860.     George  Stone. 
1 86 1.     John  Wiley. 

1 861.  Aaron  A.  Smith. 

1862.  Dr.  Lowell  Mason. 

1862.  Abraham  Baldwin. 

1863.  William  I.  Brown. 
1863.     James  Bell. 

1863.  Enoch  Condit. 

1864.  George  W.  Smith. 
1864.     Edward  L.  Barnes. 

1864.  Henry  Matthews. 

1865.  Henry  Matthews. 
1865.     Robert  O.  Crommelin. 

Alexander  T.  Moore. 
A.  Buxton  Hutchinson. 
Wm.  D.  Porter. 
A.  M.  Matthews. 
J.  Cutler  Fuller. 
A.  M.  Matthews. 
Wm.  D.  Porter. 
Wm.  P.  Kittredge. 
Ambrose  M.  Matthews. 
Richard  Russell. 
Robert  H.  Thayer. 
Geo.Washington  Smith. 


1866. 
1866. 
1868. 
1869. 
1869. 
1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 
1875. 


Elected. 

1876. 

1877. 

1877. 

1878. 

1879. 
1879. 
1879. 
1880. 
1881. 
1 88l. 
1882. 
1882. 
1 88*. 


1883. 
1884. 
1885. 
1885. 
1886. 
1886. 
1887. 
1887. 


1890. 
1890. 
1891. 
1892. 

l893- 

1894. 
1895. 


Jarvis  M.  Fairchild. 

Allerton  W.  Kilborne. 

Theodore  F.  Johnson. 

Robert  H.  Thayer. 

Alex.  Brownlie. 

Aaron  Carter,  Jr. 

Alfred  L.  Commelin. 

Richard  Russell. 

Alexander  T.  Moore. 
John  L.  Yatman. 
Alexander  Brownlie. 

Chris.  McCollough. 
John  L.  Yatman. 
Charles  A.  Meigs. 
Robert  H.  Thayer. 
Aaron  Carter. 
I.  Remsen  Lane. 
Richard  Russell. 
Charles  A.  Meigs. 
O.  S.  Thompson. 
A.  B.  Johnson. 
James  Bell. 
H.  M.  Matthews. 
C.  A.  Meigs. 
T.  S.  Waterman. 
J.  S.  Pierson. 
R.  H.  Thayer. 
T.  F. Johnson. 
James  H.  Noyes. 
O.  S.  Thompson. 


i860. 
1861. 
1862. 
1863. 
1864. 
1865. 
1866. 


SUPERINTENDENTS  OF  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 

Abraham  Baldwin. 
Dr.  Lowell  Mason. 


Abraham  Baldwin. 
Lowell  Mason,  Jr. 


1869. 
1870. 
1871. 

1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 
1876. 


Robert  O.  Crommelin. 


William  P.  Kittredge. 


Elected. 

1877. 
1878. 

1379- 

1880. 
iSSi. 

1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 

1 886. 


William  P.  Kittredge. 
George  L.  Dak-. 
Georee  L.  Dale. 


Alexander  Brownlie. 
John  B.  Solley. 


Elected. 

1887 
1888 


1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 


Stephen  A.  Condict. 


ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENTS  OF  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 


1878. 

1879. 
1880. 
1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 
1886. 


i860. 
1861. 
1862. 
186*. 


Clarence  I).  Newell. 


Alfred  M.  Crommelin. 
Frederick   L.  Grant. 


1887 


1890 
1891, 
1892 
1893 
1894 


1 895 

CLERKS. 


Reuben  Langdon,  Jr.         i< 


Richard  Russell.  Jr. 


Lowell  Mason,  Jr. 
1864.     Henry  A.  Howe,  Jr. 
1865. 

1866.  E.  Milton  Greacen. 
1S68.  William  McCullough. 
1869. 
1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1S75. 
1876. 

J877. 
1878. 


1880 
1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 
1886. 
1887. 
1888. 
1889. 
1890. 
1891. 
1892. 
1893. 
1894. 


Emery  W.  Given. 
F.  F.  Ford. 


M.  W.  Ferris. 
Emery  W.  Given. 


Richard  Russell. 
Chas.  L.  B.  Crommelin, 

Isaac  C.  Ogden,  Jr. 


Harry  W.  Hedge. 
J.  H.  Noyes. 

R.  H.  Thayer. 


OUR  CHIMES.— THEIR  STORY  AND   MESSAGE.* 

"Praise  God  in  His  sanctuary.  Praise  Him  with  the 
sound  of  the  trumpet.  Praise  Him  with  stringed  instru- 
ments and  organs.  Praise  Him  upon  the  loud  cymbals; 
praise  Him  upon  the  high  sounding  cymbals." — Ps.  cl  ;  5. 


Each  Sabbath  morning,  and  again  as  the  evening 
shadows  gather,  there  rings  out  over  the  stillness  of 
Orange,  a  chorus  of  sacred  song.  It  is  a  song  in  the 
air.  As  those  Bethlehem  shepherds  on  that  first  early 
Christmas  morning,  were  awakened  to  hear  the  sur- 
rounding hillsides  echoing  with  angel's  melody,  so  we 
hear  echoing  through  our  streets  and  from  our  hillsides 
the  same  glad  Gospel  songs.  The  chorus  is  not,  indeed, 
sung  by  angels  It  is  not  a  chorus  of  human  voices, 
though  the  song  was  inspired  by  consecrated  human 
hearts.  It  is  the  song  of  the  chimes.  Many  of  us 
have  come  to  love  their  music.  Many  others,  whom  we 
do  not  even  know,  have  come  to  listen  eagerly,  Sabbath 
after  Sabbath,  for  its  coming.  To  many  a  troubled  soul 
the  free,  glad  ringing  of  these  chimes  has  been  an  echo 
of  the  free,  glad  Gospel  of  hope  and  trust  and  peace. 

There  is  a  story  connected  with  our  chimes  that  I 
want  you  all  to  know.     It  may  be  that  we  have  come  to 


*  Delivered  in   the  Orange  Valley  Church,   Christmas  Sunday   even- 
ing, 1895. 


63 

think  of  them  as  only  the  striking  of  a  clock,  to  tell  us 
the  hour  for  worship.  I  want  you  to  think  of  the  music  of 
the  chimes  as  something  more  than  the  ringing  of  bells. 
It  is  something  more  than  "  sounding  brass  and  tinkling 
cymbals."  There  is  a  soul  in  the  chimes.  There  is  a 
Gospel  in  them,  and  he  who  rings  them,  with  a  devout 
and  earnest  spirit,  is  in  some  sort  an  assistant  Pastor 
of  this  Church,  proclaiming  the  glad  Gospel  tidings  to 
every  listener,  far  and  near. 

This  music,  from  our  heaven-pointing  Church  tower, 
rings  out  along  all  the  streets  and  avenues  of  our  city; 
it  enters  alike  the  mansion  of  the  rich  and  the  hovel  of 
the  poor,  the  abodes  of  comfort  and  luxury  and  the 
dwellings  of  want  and  woe.  It  comes  into  the  habita- 
tions of  sickness  and  suffering,  and  into  the  haunts  of 
vice  and  crime,  as  well  as  into  the  homes  of  the  happy 
and  the  good.  It  falls  on  the  ears  of  the  destitute  and 
the  homeless  and  tells  of  a  home  in  heaven.  It  goes 
through  the  wards  of  our  hospital,  whispering  to  suf- 
ferers, of  the  Great  Physician's  love  and  sympathy.  To 
the  lovers  of  God  and  the  haters  of  God,  to  the  thought- 
less and  the  thoughtful,  to  those  who  pray  and  those 
who  blaspheme,  alike,  these  songs  in  the  air  are  carried, 
telling  the  same  glad  story  of  pardon  and  of  peace. 
Like  God's  blessed  rain  and  sunshine,  the  Gospel  invita- 
tion thus  comes  home  to  the  heart  of  the  evil  and  the 
good  alike,  the  free  glad  tidings  of  the  Father's  love. 

These  chimes  of  ours  are  a  distinctive  feature  of  this, 
our  Orange  Valley  Church,  and  are  a  part  of  its  peculiar 
life.  Would  you  know  their  story  and  their  message  ? 
Climb  up  with  me,  then,  to  the  Church  tower  yonder  and 


64 

you  can  read  it,  in  part,  at  least,  for  yourselves.  It  may 
be*  worth  your  while  to  turn  aside,  as  Moses  did  at 
Horeb,  or  to  climb  the  staircase,  rather,  to  see  whence 
comes  the  melodious  voice  that  speaks  to  you.  Ten 
bronze  bells  you  find  there,  and  the  date,  1870,  stamped 
upon  them,  shows  that  for  a  full  quarter  of  a  century 
they  have  filled  the  lofty,  outer  pulpit  of  the  Orange  Val- 
ley Church 

You  cannot  guess  how  much  they  weigh,  but  I  will  tell 
you — it  is  nearly  ten  thousand  pounds  (9,822  pounds 
exactly),  and  an  inscription  cast  on  the  side  of  each, 
tells  us  that  they  came  from  the  foundry  of  Jones  &  Co., 
in  Troy,  N.  Y.  On  four  levels  they  hang;  at  the  bot- 
tom, four  large  bells,  weighing  from  800  to  1,500  pounds 
each;  above  them,  five  smaller  bells,  weighing  from  375 
to  725  pounds,  and  surmounting  all,  a  mammoth  bell, 
which  weighs  nearly  a  ton  and  a  quarter  (2,432  pounds). 

How  came  they  there?  Our  older  members  do  not 
forget,  and  the  rising  generation  ought  to  be  reminded, 
that  the  first  Pastor  of  this  Church  was  a  man  richly  en- 
dowed with  music  in  his  soul,  and  his  chief  supporter 
and  helper  in  the  early  years  of  our  Church  history  was 
one  who  has  been  called  "  the  father  of  church  music  in 
our  country."  It  is  a  memory  for  us  to  cherish  that  this 
Church  was  built  in  an  atmosphere  of  Christian  song, 
and  song  "not  only  of  the  spirit,  but  of  the  understand- 
ing, also."  Every  time  we  look  at  this  memorial  win- 
dow, representing  the  players  and  singers  in  the  old 
Temple  service,  and  inscribed,  "  Let  the  people  praise 
Thee,  O  God;  let  all  the  people  praise  Thee  !  "  and 
every  time  we  listen  to  our  organ,  we  should  call  up  to 


65 


grateful   memory,    Dr.    Lowell    Mason,    who    loved    this 
Church  and  did  so  much  for  it. 

And  there  is  another  memorial  to  him  present  with  us 
which,  perhaps,  you  did  not  know  about.  The  big  bell 
which' crowns  our  chimes,  and  whose  solemn  tones  ring 
out  the  final  invitation  to  every  service  of  worship,  is  in- 
scribed, "  Presented  in  the  name  of  Dr  Lowell  Mason, 
by  the  Orange  Valley  Church."  The  peculiar  wording 
of  the  inscription  seems  to  indicate  that  this  bell  was  a 
gift  by  the  Orange  Valley  Church  to  the  whole  com- 
munity of  Orange,  and  not  to  itself. 

The  five  smaller  bells  of  the  middle  tier  were  each 
presented  by  special  donors,  or  as  special  memorials. 
You  will  find  upon  them  the  following  inscriptions  :  The 
first,  "  Presented  by  Aaron  Carter,  Jr.";  the  second, 
"Presented  by  Peter  Meyers  Woodruff";  the  third, 
"Presented  for  Lucy  Allerton  Bacon";  the  fourth, 
"Presented  by  the  Sunday  School";  the  fifth,  "Pre- 
sented by  Piatt  K.  Dickinson,  in  memory  of  his  little 
son,  Mortie."  The  other  four,  and  larger  bells,  bear  no 
names,  but  were  secured  by  a  general  subscription. 

That  the  first  Pastor,  Dr.  Bacon,  and  his  supporters 
felt  the  value  of  this  Gospel  in  the  air,  ringing  out  from 
this  hill- top,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  they 
thought  it  worth  while  to  spend  more  than  $4,00°  for  the 
chimes  to  be  placed  there.  How  wisely  they  planned 
will  never  be  known  until  the  record  of  all  the  souls 
their  music  has  cheered  and  inspired  and  encouraged, 
shall  be  fully  made  up. 

It  may  be  an  interesting  fact  to  remember  that  our 
chimes   were   first   rung   at  a  meeting  of  the  Congrega- 


66 

tional  Conference  which  was  held  with  this  Church  on 
the  1 8th  day  of  June,  1870 — a  Conference  which  was 
presided  over  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  which  was 
addressed  by  Rev.  Drs.  Storrs,  Clapp,  Strieby  and  Brown. 
As  the  delegates  were  leaving  the  train  to  come  to  the 
Church,  the  music  began,  and  they  slowly  climbed  the 
Highland  Avenue  hill,  with  the  tones  of  "  Old  Hundred  " 
and  "America "  floating  down  upon  them  from  above. 
So  much  for  the  story  of  the  past. 

Each  bell  bears  also  a  message,  which  is  not  of  yester- 
day. It  is  a  message  of  praise  and  worship  for  to-day 
and  every  day,  and  its  burden  gives  sweetness  and 
harmony  to  the  glad  tidings  which  its  ringing  tells. 
Each  bell  Has  inscribed,  in  raised  letters  cast  upon  its 
side,  a  message  from  the  Word  of  God.  Let  us  read 
them  together.  On  the  four  bells  at  the  bottom,  we  find 
these  majestic  words: 

"  Great  is  the  Lord,  and  greatly  to  be  praised,  in  the 
city  of  our  God,  in  the  mountain  of  His  holiness." 
"  Strength  and  beauty  are  in  His  sanctuary." 
"In  His  temple  doth  every  one  speak   of  His  glory." 
"  We  have  thought  of  Thy  loving  kindness,  O  God,  in 
the  midst  of  Thy  Temple." 

The  five  smaller  bells  on  the  next  higher  level  are  thus 
inscribed:  On  the  Aaron  Carter  bell,  "  Peace  be  within 
Thy  walls,  and  prosperity  within  Thy  palaces."  On  the 
Peter  Meyers  Woodruff  bell,  "  Blessed  are  they  that 
dwell  in  Thy  house;  they  will  be  still  praising  Thee." 
On  the  Lucy  Allerton  Bacon  bell,  "  The  Lord  is  my 
strength  and  song."  On  the  bell  presented  by  the  Sun- 
day School,  are  the  words,  "  Both  young  men  and  maidens. 


6? 

old  men  and  children,  let  them  praise  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  On  the  bell  presented  in  memory  of  little 
Mortie  Dickinson,  is  the  fitting  message,  ''Out  of  the 
the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings,  Thou  hast  perfected 
praise." 

And  on  the  big  Lowell  Mason  bell,  whose  deep  under- 
tone gives  the  refrain  to  all  the  chime  music,  is  cast  the 
words,  "  Enter  into  His  gates  with  thanksgiving  and  into 
His  courts  with  praise." 

You  see,  then,  what  I  mean  when  I  say  there  is  a  soul 
in  the  chimes.  It  is  the  spirit  whose  visible  expression 
is  cast  on  their  brazen  sides — the  spirit  of  worship,  the 
spirit  of  praise,  the  spirit  of  love  and  trust  and  loyalty 
to  God. 

And  this  is  the  message  that  their  music  tells.  First 
and  last,  it  is  a  message  of  praise.  It  is  a  voice  of 
thanksgiving;  an  expression  of  gratitude  to  God.  How 
much  that  means  for  men!  Adoration  is  oxygen  to  the 
soul.  We  live  our  lives  of  toil  and  care,  and  our 
thoughts  centre  on  material  things.  Houses  and  lands, 
farms  and  merchandise;  stocks  and  bonds;  buying  and 
selling  and  getting  gain;  barter  and  bargain,  traffic  and 
trade;  work  and  wages,  profit  and  percentage;  labor  and 
loss — so  ring  the  chimes  of  our  work-day  world. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  hear  them,  as  we  hurry 
through  breakfast  and  prayers  and  rush  for  the  early 
train.  Late  at  night  we  hear  them,  when  weary  and 
worn,  we  lay  our  heads  on  our  pillows.  All  through  the 
day  we  hear  them,  and  our  souls  get  dusty  and  hard  and 
cold.  Then,  on  the  quiet  Sabbath  morning,  ring  forth 
the  chimes  of  the  sanctuary.     Their  first  note  speaks  of 


68 

worship.  Their  musical  cadences  tell  of  thanksgiving 
and  praise  They  tell  of  the  loving  kindness  of  the 
Lord  our  God;  of  His  forgiving  mercy;  of  the  hope 
there  is  in  pardon;  of  the  promises  of  love;  of  the  bet- 
ter life;  of  the  more  enduring  riches.  They  remind  us 
of  the  church  of  our  childhood;  of  the  mother's  knee; 
of  the  early  vows;  of  the  delights  of  duty  done  from 
love  of  the  Father  God  So  do  the  bells  of  praise  bring 
back  our  childhood.  So  do  they  open  again  the  fountains 
of  youthful  aspirations,  and  once  more  unlock  the  door 
of  our  hearts  to  God. 

Then  there  is  the  chime  of  peace.  It  is  the  glad, 
restful  Christmas  Gospel  that  the  chimes  are  always 
ringing.  Whatever  is  the  sacred  song  they  sing,  the 
spirit  back  of  the  song  is  one  of  peace  and  rest  and 
safety.  It  was  not  a  chance  selection  of  all  the  rolls  of 
heavenly  music  when  the  angels  sang  their  first  Christ- 
mas carol,  "  Good  tidings  of  great  joy  !  Peace  on 
earth — good  will  to  men  !  "  Our  Gospel  is  a  Gospel  of 
peace,   and  how  much  the  world   still   needs  to  hear  it. 

Strange,  indeed,  this  pugnacious,  quarrelsome  world 
must  look  from  the  standpoint  of  heaven  !  Bickerings, 
jealousies,  contentions,  wranglings,  controversies,  fight- 
ings, brother  striving  to  get  the  advantage  of  brother, 
families  divided  within  themselves,  nations  viewing  each 
other  with  suspicious  jealousy,  guarding  their  own 
interests,  voting  millions  to  keep  their  armies  alert  and 
ready  for  war.  And  in  business  and  social  life  :  rivalries, 
merciless  competition,  envies,  cares,  anxieties,  turmoils, 
unrest.  Our  powers  are  being  exhausted;  our  nerves 
are  breaking  down;  our  physical  and  mental   resources 


•        69 

are  being  wasted,  and  the  remedy  for  it  all  lies  in  the 
hands  of  Him  whose  life  key-note  was,  "Peace  on 
earth,"  and  who  said,  "  Come  unto  me  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  The  chimes  are  the  Saviour's  voice,  saying, 
"Come  and  I  will  rest  you."  They  invite  the  laborer  to 
lay  aside  his  tools,  the  merchant  to  close  his  ledgers, 
and  the  manufacturer  to  stop  his  machines.  They 
invite  the  weary  man  to  rest,  the  anxious  man  to  hope, 
the  despondent  man  to  look  up  with  a  cheerful  courage. 

Are  there  misunderstandings  between  man  and  man  ? 
Are  there  difficulties  in  one's  way  ?  Are  there  injuries 
that  hurt,  and  slights  that  wound,  and  insults  that  rankle  ? 
The  chimes  ringing  out  the  Gospel  of  divine  peace  and 
pardon,  call  men  to  calmness  and  candor,  and  forbear- 
ance and  charitableness.  The  note  of  God's  loving 
kindness  inspires  men  to  be  loving  and  kind.  The  note 
of  his  pardon  prompts  them  to  forgive.  The  Gospel  of 
His  peace  smoothes  the  wrinkles  on  their  brows;  soothes 
the  disturbances  of  their  brains;  quiets  the  commotions 
of  their  hearts;  sends  a  sweet  and  holy  calm  to  their 
inmost  souls. 

So  does  the  bell  of  peace  ring  out  the  message  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  disturbed  and  the  anxious.  To  the  bur- 
dened and  the  weary,  it  echoes  the  Word  of  the  gracious 
Master,  "Peace  I  leave  with  you;  my  peace  I  give  unto 
you." 

"At  morn,  at  noon,  at  twilight  dim, 

My  voice  shall  sound 

The  world  around, — 
'  Christ  for  the  world,  the  world  for  him  ! '  " 


7°       ' 

And  the  bells  are  all  in  harmony.  Whether  the  key- 
note of  the  tune  they  play  be  "  Praise,"  or  "  Holiness  to 
our  God,"  or  "  Strength  and  Beauty,"  or  "  Glory,"  or 
"Blessedness,"  or  "Peace,"  or  "Loving  Kindness,"  or 
"  Rejoicing,"  there  is  no  jar  or  discord.  The  spirit  of 
the  chimes  is  one  of  loving  unison.  It  is  the  spirit  of 
God  and  cannot  be  otherwise.  It  is  the  spirit  of  love 
and  hope  and  joy;  of  good  tidings  of  better  things  to 
be.  It  is  the  spirit  which  brought  the  Lord  Christ  into 
the  world,  and  made  music  in  his  soul  all  the  while  he 
was  in  the  world,  and  strengthened  him  to  leave  the 
world,  and  thrills  him  now  in  the  heavenly  world;  and  it 
is  the  same  spirit  which  he  wants  to  sing  into  your  soul 
and  mine.  Harmony  with  God.  Unison  with  the  spirit 
of  holiness  and  goodness  and  truth. 

Surely,  we  ought,  all  of  us,  to  be  better  men  and 
women,  because  of  the  music  of  our  chimes.  An  inspir- 
ation to  higher  and  nobler  things  ought  to  fill  our  souls 
as  we  listen  to  their  me'ssage.  Whatever  be  the  familiar 
air  into  which  their  cadences  blend,  their  notes  are 
always  the  same;  cast  into  their  brazen  sides  and  uttered 
by  their  brazen  tongues,  "  Blessing  and  Glory,"  and 
"  Honor  and  Majesty  and  Might  be  to  the  King,  the 
Lord  our  God." 

And  there  is  one  thing  more  which  they  ceaselessly 
tell  us.  I  am  glad  that  two  of  our  bells  speak  for  the 
children.  It  was  a  happy  thought  to  have  the  Sunday 
School  present  a  bell  to  be  hung  in  our  Church  tower 
which  should  always  peal  forth  this  message  :  "  Both 
young  men  and  maidens,  old  men  and  children;  let  them 
praise  the  name  of  the  Lord." 


7< 

It  was  another  happy  thought  that,  blending  with  that 
in  sweet  concord,  should  come  the  note  from  the  infant 
room,  in  the  name  of  "  Little  Mortie":  "Out  of  the 
mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings,  Thou  hast  perfected 
praise  !  "  So  not  alone  to  the  aged  and  infirm  comes 
the  message  of  the  chimes;  not  alone  to  those  who  have 
become  weary  of  the  world  and  are  eagerly  looking  for  a 
better.  It  comes  to  the  vigorous  and  the  strong.  It 
comes  to  the  young  and  the  hopeful;  to  the  ambitious  and 
the  impulsive;  to  those  to  whom  life  is  new  and  hope  is 
strong,  and  to-day  is  bright.  And  it  tells  them  that  the 
worship  of  God  and  Christian  service  will  keep  life  new, 
and  keep  hope  strong,  and  make  each  to-day  brighter 
than  yesterday.  And  always  there  will  come  to  us  in 
the  music  of  the  chimes,  now  we  know  it  is  there,  that 
sweet  childish  voice,  singing  the  Hosanna  of  "  perfected 
praise."  With  all  the  strength  of  mature  judgment  and 
of  reason,  are  we  exhorted  to  praise  the  Lord  our  God, 
with  all  the  devotion  of  womanhood's  heart,  with  all 
the  vigor  of  manhood's  soul.  But  always  it  must  be  the 
child-spirit  that  best  worships  God.  Always  it  must  be 
the  child-simplicity;  the  child-dependence;  the  child- 
sincerity  and  trust,  that  sends  forth  the  perfect  praise 
that  delights  the  heart  of  the  Father  in  heaven. 

The  children  of  the  Sunday  School  whose  pennies 
purchased  the  bell  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  are  the 
grown  men  and  women  to-day,  and  in  another  quarter  of 
a  century  a  majority  of  them  will  have  joined  the  choirs 
invisible,  but  the  bells  will  still  chime  on.  Generations 
shall  come  and  generations  shall  go,  but  the  same  old 
story   and  the  same   old  song  will  float   out  on   the   air 


72 

from  this,  our  Church  spire,  telling  those  who  are  to 
come  after,  of  the  love  of  the  unchangeable  God.  Little 
Mortie's  voice,  after  twenty-five  years'  practice  in 
heaven's  chorus,  still  rings  out  its  Hosanna !  and  its 
music  will  be  just  as  sweet  after  a  century  has  rolled  by. 
So  one  generation  shall  sing  his  praises  to  another,  and 
the  anthem  shall  never  cease. 

This,  then,  is  the  story  and  the   message  that  float  out 
from  our  Church  spire: 

"  On  the  icy  air  of  night, 

While  the  stars  that  over-sprinkle 

All  the  heavens,  seem  to  twinkle 
With  a  crystalline  delight, 

As  it  swells, 

As  it  dwells, 

On  the  future  !  As  it  tells 

Of  the  rapture  that  impels 
To  the  swinging  and  the  ringing, 

To  the  rhyming  and  the  chiming  of  the  bells." 


TOUCHING    HIS    GARMENT* 

"  For  she  said  within  herself  \  if  I  may  but  touch  His 
garment,  J  shall  be  whole." — Matt,  ix,  21. 


That  was  a  pathetic  incident  in  the  life  of  the  first 
Pastor  of  this  Church,  which  suggested  the  subject  of  his 
beautiful  memorial  window.  You  remember  what  it  was 
— the  wish  that  he  expressed  but  a  few  days  before  his 
death — that  he  might  be  able  to  preach  one  more  sermon 
to  his  beloved  people  from  the  words,  "  If  I  may  but 
touch  His  garment  I  shall  be  whole." 

Often  have  I  wished  that  I  could  know  precisely  what 
was  in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Bacon  when  he  said  that.  Often 
have  I  wished  that  that  sermon,  which  was  written  on  his 
heart,  could  have  been  put  into  words,  and  the  deep 
thought  which  was  burning  in  his  soul  could  have  found 
utterance  as  the  last  message  of  his  gracious  lips,  and 
that  I,  as  well  as  you,  might  have  heard  it  Surely  that 
uttered  thought,  born  of  those  awful  realities  through 
which,  and  into  which,  his  soul  was  passing,  would  have 
burned  into  your  soul  and  mine,  could  it  have  been 
spoken  to  us.  Did  you  ever  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  real 
preacher's  workshop  ?  True  sermons,  like  poems,  are 
born,  not  made.  It  is  easy  enough  to  string  words  to- 
gether   and    read    them    for   half    an    hour.     It    is   easy 


*  Delivered  on  Palm  Sunday,  1896. 


74 

enough  to  cover  page  after  page  with  polished  sentences, 
and  ornate  rhetoric,  and  pious  platitudes.  That  is 
mainly  a  mechanical  art.  Tt  is  not  hard  work,  under  the 
inspiration  of  a  Scripture  promise,  or  exhortation  or 
warning,  to  say  things  that  are  good  and  true,  which  may 
be  called  a  sermon.  But  the  true  sermon  is  more  than 
pleasant  sounding  words.  It  is  more  than  poetic  fancies. 
It  is  more  than  the  mere  utterance  of  truth.  It  is  the 
voice  of  God.  While  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  was  at  Sag 
Harbor  some  years  ago,  an  old  sea  captain  came  up  to 
shake  hands  with  her,  saying,  "  I  am  glad  to  shake 
hands  with  the  woman  who  wrote  '  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  '  " 
"But  I  didn't  write  it,"  replied  Mrs.  Stowe.  "You 
didn't  !  Who  did,  then  ?"  "  God  wrote  it.  I  merely 
followed  His  dictation." 

In  just  that  way  the  true  preacher  speaks,  because  he 
has  first  heard  God  speak.  He  is  no  true  preacher  else. 
His  study  is  not  merely  a  pleasant  room  lined  with  books 
and  papers,  where  he  fills  his  mind  with  the  wit  and  the 
wisdom  of  men.  If  he  is  worthy  the  name  of  preacher, 
it  is  a  place  where  God  speaks  to  his  soul.  The  message 
which  he  delivers  he  must  first  receive.  He  is  an  am- 
bassador for  Christ — taught  with  the  divine  instruction, 
inspired  with  the  divine  Spirit,  absorbed  with  a  divine 
thought.  He  is  set  on  fire  with  a  divine  impulse,  which 
makes  him  feel  as  the  Apostle  felt,  "  Woe  unto  me  if  I 
preach  not  this  gospel,  which  has  been  given  me  to 
preach."  Let  a  man  stand  before  a  congregation,  or 
come  in  contact  with  a  single  soul  in  that  way,  and  what 
he  says  will  be  a  sermon,  indeed,  from  God.  Such  ser- 
mons are  not  preached  every  day.     No  minister  preaches 


75 

them  every  time  he  stands  before  his  people.  Perhaps 
he  does  it  but  once  in  his  life  time.  If  so,  that  one  ser- 
mon is  the  climax  of  his  life — the  ultimate  purpose  for 
which  he  was  born. 

1  cannot  help  thinking  that  it  was  such  a  sermon  as 
that  that  was  born  in  the  heart  of  George  13.  Bacon, 
which  indeed  filled  his  own  soul  with  light  and  peace, 
but  which  he  had  not  strength  to  speak  to  you.  That 
expression,  "  If  I  may  but  touch  His  garment  I  shall  be 
whole,"  meant  something  to  him  then.  Surely  he  had 
no  inclination  then  to  preach  beautiful  theories  or  poetic 
fancies.  He  was  face  to  face  with  the  eternal  reality. 
He  stood  there  where  you  and  I  shall  one  day  stand — 
theories  all  forgotten,  earthly  pretensions  all  weighed  in 
the  balances,  earthly  values  all  tested,  life's  balance-sheet 
being  footed  up — looking  out  on  things  that  are  real  and 
lasting. 

Could  you  and  I  but  climb  to-day  to  the  mountain 
where  he  stood  that  day — even  as  we  must  some  time 
climb  there — the  outlook  which  we  should  get,  not  only 
into  the  mysteries  of  the  future,  but  into  the  secrets  of 
the  present  life,  would  not  be  forgotten,  as  we  should 
come  down  from  the  mountain-top  to  the  plain  of  life's 
work  and  care  once  more.  I  know  it  is  almost  an  audaci- 
ous thing  for  me  to  attempt  to  lead  you  to-day  up  into 
the  clear  atmosphere  of  his  dying  thought.  There  are 
mountain  summits  so  high,  so  clear,  like  Mt.  Hamilton 
in  California,  that  they  erect  mighty  telescopes  on  them, 
for  from  them  they  can  best  see  the  stars.  There  are 
spiritual  mountain-tops  from  which  men  get  clearer 
visions  of  God  and  Christ  and  duty  than  elsewhere.    You 


76 

and  I  have  not  climbed  to  those  loftiest  heights  yet.  Our 
spiritual  vision  is  sadly  clouded  with  earth  mists.  Dr. 
Bacon  had  reached  them  when  these  words,  which  have 
always  been  so  familiar  to  us,  seemed  to  gather  up  the 
last  message  of  love  and  of  hope  that  he  wanted  to  de- 
clare to  the  people  for  whom  he  had  given  his  life.  But 
I  believe  God's  Spirit  can  teach  us  something  of  what 
his  thought  was — something  which  we  have  never  dis- 
covered in  the  familiar  words  before.  If  this  shall  be, 
this  memorial  window,  with  its  illuminated  and  illustrated 
text,  will  preach  to  us  with  a  clearer  voice  than  it  ever 
yet  has. 

"  If  I  may  but  touch  His  garment  I  shall  be  whole." 
It  was  the  secret  thought  of  the  invalid  woman,  as  she 
stole  up  behind  Jesus,  in  the  press.  She  had  seen  the 
loving  face  of  the  Master.  She  had  heard  the  gracious 
words  that  He  had  spoken.  She  had  seen  the  strange 
miracles  that  He  had  wrought,  and  had  felt  the  power  of 
His  magnetic  presence.  "  Surely,"  she  said,  "  there  is 
healing  virtue,  not  only  in  the  tone  of  His  voice  and  the 
touch  of  His  hand,  but  in  the  very  garments  that  He 
wears."  So,  drawn  by  some  mysterious  influence — call 
it  faith,  call  it  superstition,  call  it  a  morbid  curiosity  to 
try  a  new  experiment,  call  it  what  you  will — she  stole  up 
behind  Him  in  the  crowd  that  thronged  around  Him,  and 
tremblingly  reached  out  her  hand  and  touched  the  hem  of 
His  outer  robe,  and  straightway  the  healing  virtue  came. 
There  was  no  grain  of  superstition  in  Dr.  Bacon  when 
those  words  gave  expression  to  the  thought  of  his  soul 
that  day.  He  knew  well  enough  that  if  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth were  walking  the  streets  of  Orange,  he  and  all  his 


77 

people  might  come  so  close  to  His  bodily  presence,  as 
multitudes  did  in  Galilee,  as  to  brush  His  clothes  or 
touch  His  hand  or  hear  Him  speak,  and  go  away  un- 
healed, unblessed.  But  still  his  thought  was,  "  If  I  may 
but  touch  His  garment  I  shall  be  whole,"  ''  If  my  peo- 
ple could  but  touch  His  garment,  they,  too,  might  be 
whole."  Now  what  was  his  thought  ?  Surely  it  was  the 
deep  cry  of  his  soul  for  himself,  and  for  his  people,  for  a 
spiritual  wholeness  which  could  come  only  from  actual 
contact  with  the  actual  Christ. 

Much  as  life  meant  to  him,  his  supreme  thought  in 
those  last  days  of  seraphic  vision  was  not  of  physical 
healing  for  himself.  Much  as  he  loved  his  people,  his 
chief  desire  for  them  was  not  that  they  might  be  relieved 
from  physical  infirmity.  Wholeness  !  That  was  his 
thought.  Wholeness  for  himself.  Wholeness  for  you. 
Full  well  he  knew  that  the  infirmities  of  the  flesh  took 
away  something  from  one's  complete  manhood  or  woman- 
hood. Deeply  was  he  conscious  that  moral  weakness  and 
spiritual  infirmity  and  sinful  self-indulgence,  contracted 
a  man's  soul  and  stunted  his  development  and  robbed 
him  of  his  truest  life.  His  deep  longing  was  for  spiritual 
health,  soundness,  wholeness.  Holiness,  the  Bible  calls 
it.  You  do  not  like  that  word,  holiness.  Somehow  it 
does  not  attract  you.  But  the  Bible  is  full  of  it,  as  the 
ideal  standard  not  only  for  God,  but  for  man.  It  pre- 
sents holiness  as  the  goal  of  human  life  ;  and  its  thought 
is,  not  some  fictitious  outside  sanctity,  not  some  gloomy 
austerity  of  life,  not  some  repression  of  animal  spirits 
and  renunciation  of  pleasure,  but  the  complete  rounding 
out  of  manhood,  the  fullest  possible  expression  of  all  that 


7« 

a  man  is  capable  of  in  the  expansion  of  all  that  is  highest 
within  him.  That  is  what  God  means  when  he  says, 
"  Be  ye  holy  as  I  am  holy  !" 

That,  I  am  sure,  was  the  underlying  thought  in  Dr. 
Bacon's  heart  that  day.  It  was  no  new  thought.  He 
had  always  been  preaching  it.  But  as  he  stood  there  on 
that  spiritual  mountaintop,  in  a  more  translucent  atmos- 
phere than  had  ever  yet  enveloped  his  soul,  he  saw  with 
so  clear  a  vision  this  great  truth,  that  it  seemed  to  him 
he  had  never  seen  it  before.  It  seemed  as  if  he  could 
not  leave  his  people  until  he  had  told  you  of  this  truth, 
which  seemed  to  him  so  fresh  and  new.  Wholeness  !  Is 
it  then  a  thing  possible  for  these  marred  and  stunted 
lives  of  ours?  Wholeness  !  Can  these,  our  sickly  souls, 
really  know  what  true  spiritual  soundness  is?  Whole- 
ness !  Can  these,  our  fragments  of  consecration  ;  this, 
our  invalid  faith  ;  this  blurred  and  weakened  spiritual 
vision,  ever  be  restored  to  the  sympathy  and  vigor  which 
was  God's  ideal  ?  Can  the  divine  pattern  for  our  human 
life  be  reached?  Yes,  says  divine  inspiration.  "Like 
as  He  which  called  you  is  holy,  be  ye  yourselves  also 
holy  in  all  manner  of  living;  because  it  is  written,  ye  shall 
be  holy  for  I  am  holy."  That  is  not  simply  a  command, 
but  the  declaration  of  a  possibility.  As  Andrew  Murray 
says,  "  The  call  of  God  is  the  manifestation  in  time  of 
the  purpose  of  eternity."  And  it  was  a  fresh  glimpse  of 
that  eternal  purpose,  as  a  divine  possibility,  which  came 
to  the  sharpened  spiritual  vision  of  the  dying  Pastor, 
which  constrained  him  to  say,  "  If  I  and  my  people 
could  but  touch  His  garment,  we  should  be  whole  !" 

Spiritual   wholeness  !     That   was   the   possible   vision. 


79 

Spiritual  contact  ;  that  was  the  way  by  which  alone  it 
could  be  secured.  Contact  !  That  is  always  the  source 
of  power.  Contact  with  the  electric  battery  sends  a 
message  with  lightning  speed  around  the  world.  Con- 
tact with  the  dynamo  flashes  sunlight  through  all  the 
streets  and  alleys  of  a  city.  Contact  with  the  vine  sends 
the  life  sap  up  through  every  branch  and  twig,  and  brings 
forth  the  grape  clusters.  Contact  with  Christ.  What  is 
that  ?  What  does  it  do  ?  Why,  just  what  is  done  in  the 
vine  and  the  electric  circuit  and  the  telegraph.  In 
Christ  is  stored  all  the  light  and  the  wisdom  and  the  love 
of  God.  "In  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  God- 
head bodilv."  In  Him  is  centred  the  power  of  God — 
whether  creative  power,  or  healing  power,  or  redemptive 
power,  or  forgiving  power.  He  is  the  reservoir  of  the 
Living  Water  ;  the  store-house  of  the  Bread  of  Life  ;  the 
fountain  of  Forgiveness  and  Grace.  Contact  with  Him 
is  tapping  the  reservoir  of  His  grace,  and  building  an 
acqueduct  to  His  living  fountain,  and  establishing  a  cir- 
cuit over  which  flows  His  living  power.  In  her  super- 
stitious ignorance  and  her  faltering,  flickering  faith,  the 
invalid  woman  did  that,  for  then,  as  always,  the  power  of 
Jesus  was  not  conditioned  on  the  quantity,  nor  yet  on  the 
quality,  but  on  genuineness  of  faith.  In  physical  weak- 
ness, but  with  a  spiritual  insight,  proportionately  intensi- 
fied, Dr.  Bacon  did  that,  and  the  wholeness  of  soul  that 
flowed  in  upon  him  was  so  sweet,  so  strong,  that  he 
longed  once  more  for  the  gift  of  speech,  that  he  might 
tell  you  about  it. 

But  we  have  not  yet  discovered  the  whole  secret  of  his 
thought.     Why  did  he  use  that  figurative  expression  of 


8o 

the  Gospel  story  ?  Why  did  he  not  use  the  closer  ana- 
logy of  "  the  branch  united  to  the  vine,"  rather  than  the 
seemingly  less  perfect  one  of  a  simple  touch,  and  that  not 
of  the  inner  life  but  of  the  outer  garment  ?  I  believe  it 
not  enough  to  suppose  that,  in  that  hour  of  solemn  reali- 
ties, he  chose  the  more  poetic  figure  just  for  the  mere 
poetry  of  it.  To  the  superstitious  woman  the  hem  of 
Christ's  garment  was  a  real  channel  of  power.  To  the 
clear-sighted  Bacon  it  must  have  been  only  a  symbol. 
And  of  what  ?  What  was  Christ's  garment  ?  It  was 
doubtless  that  same  one  which  the  ribald  soldiers,  with 
coarse  jests,  cast  lots  for  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  for  the 
coat  was  without  seam,  and  it  were  a  shame  to  rend  it  ! 
The  coat  was  the  outer  covering  of  the  real  Christ.  And 
as  the  quality  and  taste  of  garments  give  some  sort  of 
expression  to  the  body  and  the  soul  that  they  conceal,  so 
the  garment  of  Christ  was  in  some  sort  a  symbol  of  the 
life  and  the  soul  of  Christ. 

Actual  contact  with  the  garment,  then,  if  made  with 
that  purpose  and  wish,  is  actual  contact  with  the  soul  of 
which  it  is  the  outward  expression  We  know  something 
of  what  true  friendship  is.  It  is  the  contact  of  soul  with 
soul.  It  is  the  communion  of  heart  with  heart.  It  is 
the  mutual  opening  of  one  life  for  another  life  to  fill. 
And  we  may  be  friends  of  God.  Of  Abraham,  the 
father  of  the  faithful,  God  himself  said:  "He  is  my 
friend!"  Of  His  disciples,  Jesus  said  :  "I  call  you  no 
longer  servants,  but  I  have  called  you  friends!"  And 
you  and  I,  as  heirs  of  the  Apostolic  commission,  are 
also  heirs  to  this  divine  friendship.  In  a  way,  friendship 
may  mean  more,  even,  than  love.     Love  is  often  alloyed 


8i 

with  passion.  So-called  love  is  sometimes  a  sort  of  re- 
fined selfishness.  Love  may  be  the  fruit  of  sympathy  or 
pity.  Love  is  a  sentiment  which  may  exist  in  the  heart 
of  a  superior  for  an  inferior.  It  is  even  that  which  binds 
the  heart  of  the  Holy  God  to  the  heart  of  the  sinful  man. 
But  friendship  is  more  a  bond  between  equals.  By  call- 
ing His  disciples  friends,  Christ  comes  down  to  their 
level,  after  having  lifted  them  as  high  as  possible  towards 
His.  Friends,  to  the  extent  of  their  friendship,  under- 
stand each  other  ;  share  each  others  joys  and  sorrows  ; 
think  each  others  thoughts  ;  live  a  common  life. 

Those  who  love  each  other  may  be  friends,  though 
sometimes,  in  this  high  and  holy  sense,  they  are  not,  for 
the  souls  which  reach  out  towards  each  other  may  not 
always  blend.  It  is  this  high  contact  which  we  are  told 
is  possible  between  our  souls  and  Christ — our  souls  and 
God.  And  that,  I  believe,  is  the  thought  which  we  are 
trying  to  grasp  to  day.  Actual  contact  with  the  soul  of 
Christ  means  a  complete  union  with  His  life.  It  is  such 
a  union  that  we  shall  come  to  think  His  thoughts,  to 
share  His  feelings,  to  be  moved  by  His  impulses,  to  have 
perfect  harmony  of  wish  and  will.  Have  you  an  earthly 
friend — one  who  beyond  all  others  deserves  the  name  ? 
Think  what  that  friendship  means  for  you.  Multiply  it 
by  the  infinity  of  God,  and  then,  just  so  far  as  you  are 
able  to  understand  it,  will  you  be  able  to  see  what  it 
means  to  come  into  actual  contact  with  Christ,  the  soul 
of  God,  and  be  His  friend. 

But  the  full  force  of  the  figurative  symbolism  we  do 
not  get  until  we  think  in  what  way  the  outer  garment 
was  an  expression   of   the   inner.      In    two  ways  we  may 


82 

see  that  it  was  symbolical  ;  first,  of  His  outer  life,  and 
second,  of  His  inner  soul.  And  first,  His  outer  life. 
What  was  that?  Surely  it  was  His  human  life.  The 
Son  of  God  "  took  not  on  Him  the  nature  of  angels.  He 
took  on  Him  the  seed  of  Abraham."  He  clothed  Him- 
self with  human  flesh.  He  took  on  Him  the  garment  of 
our  common  humanity — not  a  humanity  defiled  by  sin  ; 
not  a  humanity  weakened  by  self-indulgence,  and  stunted 
by  self-abuse — but  the  pure,  perfect  humanity,  sym- 
metrical, complete,  perfectly  conformed  to  the  ideal  of 
God.  It  was  this  pure,  perfect,  human  life  of  His  which 
was  the  garment  which  covered  the  soul  of  the  Son  of 
God. 

Let  us  climb  up  for  a  moment  into  the  mountain  of 
that  thought  and  see  if  we  can  discover  what  it  means  to 
touch  the  garment  of  Christ's  perfect  humanity.  Let  us 
try  to  see  if  touching  that  will  satisfy  the  condition  that 
confronts  us,  so  that  we  shall  be  whole.  If  we  grasp  the 
full  significance  of  what  that  means,  I  think  it  does.  If 
you  or  I  could  become  altogether  such  a  man  as  Christ 
was,  it  would  be  said  of  us,  too,  as  of  Him,  "  This  is  My 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  If  coming 
into  complete  contact  with  His  human  life  should  trans- 
mit to  us  the  graces  of  His  perfect  human  character,  we 
then  should  also  become  God's  ideal  sons.  God  never 
expects  us  to  become  divine  sons,  but  always  to  remain 
human  sons.  Our  humanity  is  a  part  of  our  eternal  in- 
heritance. The  perfection  that  we  reach  after  is  a  per- 
fection on  the  plane  of  humanity,  and  not  of  divinity. 
But  there  is  no  human  quality  that  we  possess  which  we 
may  not  conceive  of  as  purified   until   it   reaches  God's 


standard.  There  is  no  human  impulse  that  we  have 
which  we  may  not  conceive  of  as  throbbing  in  its  human 
channel  with  a  divine  energy.  There  is  no  disposition 
or  taste,  no  capacity  or  talent,  no  peculiarity  or  capa- 
bility, which  belongs  to  us,  which  does  not  receive  its 
energy  from  divine  impartation  and  for  a  holy  purpose. 
It  was  designed  to  shape  our  peculiar  characters  and  to 
give  tone  to  our  individuality,  in  accord  with  the  infinite 
diversity  of  God's  models.  Often  we  have  perverted  the 
gift.  We  have  misused  the  power.  We  have  become 
what  the  original  Designer  never  wanted  us  to  become, 
and  have  done  what  He  never  wanted  us  to  do.  If  now 
we  could  come  into  perfect  contact  with  His  life  once 
more  ;  if  the  channels  which  sin  has  obstructed  could  be 
completely  flushed,  and  the  windows  of  our  souls  could 
be  thrown  wide  open  to  God,  that  divine  life  would  flow 
into  our  human  lives  again,  as  God  in  the  beginning 
meant  it  to  do.  That  would  not  make  us  divine,  but 
perfectly,  symmetrically,  human.  In  place  of  a  broken, 
fragmentary  life,  we  should  be  living  a  whole  life.  In 
place  of  a  marred  and  disfigured  life,  we  should  have  a 
clean  and  wholesome  life.  Instead  of  a  diseased  and 
sickly  life,  it  would  be  a  sound  and  healthy  life.  If  only 
we  could  really  touch  the  garment  of  Christ's  perfect 
humanity,  we  should  become  perfectly  whole.  And  it 
was  to  brinsj  this  wholeness  within  our  reach  that  the 
Son  of  God  took  on  our  humanity  and  came  and  lived 
among  men. 

But  again,  there  is  the  other  side  of  the  thought. 
It  is  the  same  truth,  only  seen  at  another  angle. 
Christ's    outer    garment    was    a    symbol    of    His    inner 


84 

life.  The  Apostle  Peter  speaks  of  being  "  clothed  in 
humility,"  and,  as  never  man  who  walked  this  earth  be- 
sides, in  that  garment  was  the  Lord  Christ  clothed.  We 
speak  of  the  garment  of  Christ's  righteousness — not,  in- 
deed, as  if  it  were  an  outer  covering  which  could  be 
thrown  off  at  will,  for  righteousness  was  the  very  tissue 
of  His  being,  but  as  the  outer  expression  of  His  life  In 
old  theological  language,  that  garment  of  Christ's  right- 
eousness was  spoken  of  as  being  transferred  from  Him 
to  us.  It  was  a  pious  fiction  to  say  that,  for  I  can  no 
more  become  good  because  of  His  righteousness  than  He 
could  become  guilty  because  of  my  sin.  But  there  is  a 
deep  truth  in  speaking  of  the  garment  of  Christ's  right- 
eousness. There  is  a  priceless  truth  in  the  thought  that 
actual  contact  with  His  righteous  life  imparts  to  me  an 
impulse  towards  righteousness,  such  as  I  could  get  in  no 
other  way.  And  that  righteousness  of  His — through 
which,  in  some  mysterious  way,  I  do  not  understand 
how,  atonement  was  made  for  my  sin — was  not  some- 
thing distinct  from  the  life  which  He  lived  here  on  the 
earth.  It  was  His  divinity  somehow  projected  into  His 
humanity.  It  was  the  life  of  God  which  somehow  was 
in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  into  Himself. 

So  then,  the  two-fold  thought  is  this.  Christ's  seam- 
less garment  was  a  fitting  symbol  of  His  perfect  human 
character  ;  that  outer  manifestation  of  His  hidden  life, 
and  that  human  character,  was  perfect,  because  it  was 
permeated  through  and  through  with  the  Spirit  of  God. 
If  you  and  I  can  truly  touch  that,  we  shall  indeed  be 
made  whole.  It  was  the  power  of  that  touch,  I  believe, 
that  thrilled  the  soul  of  George  Bacon  in  those  hours  of 


85 

weakness  and  of  pain,  and  which  made  him  so  long  to 
tell  you  of  its  magic  healing  We  have  been  reaching 
after  his  thought  to-day,  and  I  believe  that  in  some  sort 
we  have  grasped  it.  Its  depth  and  richness  of  meaning 
we  may  not  fully  know,  until,  like  him,  we  shall  have 
passed  beyond  the  skill  of  all  earthly  physicians.  Then 
we,  too,  may  discover  what  it  means  to  reach  out  the 
hand  and  touch  the  garment  of  the  divine  Christ. 

On  this  Palm  Sunday  we  are  reminded  of  that  moment 
of  seeming  triumph  in  the  life  of  the  Master,  when  the 
multitudes  spread  their  garments  in  the  way,  to  make  a 
dustless  road  for  Him  to  ride  over.  There  is  exultation 
in  the  thought  of  that  day,  when  a  worthy  tribute  seemed 
to  be  offered  to  our  King.  But  there  is  sadness,  too,  in 
the  thought  that  many  of  those  who  thus  threw  down 
their  garments  as  a  pathway  for  Emmanuel,  before  Holy 
Week  had  passed,  cried,  "  Crucify  Him!  Crucify  Him!" 
So  it  has  often  happened  in  men's  treatment  of  Christ. 
They  have  offered  their  garments  for  Him  to  walk  over. 
Their  outer  covering  they  have  spread  out  before  Him  in 
token  of  loyalty,  but  their  hearts  have  been  barred 
against  Him.  Or  this,  shall  I  say  ?  While  seeming  to 
cast  down  their  garments  in  token  of  loyalty,  in  reality 
they  have  sought  to  make  a  pathway  of  their  own  paving 
for  Him  to  ride  over.  It  has  been  a  pathway  of  pride 
and  not  of  humility,  and  they  would  gladly  make  the 
lowly  Christ  ride  over  that.  It  has  been  a  pathway  of 
selfishness  and  not  of  love  ;  of  worldliness  and  not  of 
holiness,  and  they  would  have  salvation  come  to  them 
along  such  a  pathway  as  that.  There  is  no  real  loyalty 
in  thus  trying  to  make  Christ  walk  over   our    pathway, 


86 

and  not  we  over  His.  There  is  no  true  devotion  in  try- 
ing to  get  Him  to  wear  our  garments,  and  not  we  His — 
in  seeking  a  divine  sanction  for  our  chosen  life,  and  not 
coming  into  contact  with  His  life.  But  that  is  precisely 
what  many  of  us  are  doing.  Palm  Sunday  comes  to  us 
again  to-day,  reminding  us  of  the  fact  that  Jesus,  the 
Nazarene,  is  King.  Let  us  consider  well  the  impulse 
that  leads  us  to  cast  our  garments  in  the  way.  Holy 
Week  is  coming,  with  all  its  sacred  memories  and  mean- 
ing. God  grant  that  all  our  lives  may,  during  this  week, 
be  brought  into  closer  contact  than  ever  before  with  the 
divine  human  Christ.  While  the  multitudes  are  'throng- 
ing Him  and  pressing  Him,  of  you,  of  me,  may  He  ask 
the  searching  question — Who  Touched  Me  ? 


DATE  DUE 

1 

GAYLORD 

1    PRINTEDIN  USA. 

